Sladomasochism
by Kawaii-kuro
Summary: Now with more plot! Part of a balanced diet plan.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Teen Titans, Teen Titans characters, or any affiliated plotlines belonging to the show.

Hello and thanks to those that decided to read this! To be brutally honest, this story was intended to be little more than a smut fiction. Character growth and development may occur, but will probably be purely coincidental if it does. Although the storyline will remain somewhat light, some scenes may be graphic and could possibly depict S&M situations- as indicated by the playful title. You've been warned, my loves. That being said, enjoy the show.

Oh, one last thing, this story is set after the show and movie. Robin is nearly 18 and beginning to make his transition to Nightwing.

* * *

"Hello, Robin."

The boy wonder growled and pulled at the chains that were attached to his wrists and held his hands high above his head. He was not in the mood. Somewhere in the city, there were three bombs ticking away. The rest of the Titans were already looking but the more eyes there were, the better their chances of finding the bombs.

He waited until the tall and bulky man came closer before he lifted his steel-toed shoes and took a swing. Slade, of course, caught the boy by his ankle and smirked under his mask.

"Let me go, you bastard," Robin sneered and grit his teeth as the villain's grip tightened.

"You know, we never make time to talk anymore," Slade sighed as he chained the teen's legs with shackles and shortened the chains so that his body was held taut. "It's so sad when good friends drift apart."

"Let me go! There are bombs in the city set to go off in one hour. If we don't find them-"

"My dear boy, that was merely a red herring; a clever distraction for your friends while you and I get down to the business at hand."

"I won't be your apprentice."

"I wasn't asking for that- or for anything, really. I merely wanted to talk with you." He tested the chains with quick pulls before he reached down to Robin's utility belt, unhinging it and throwing it a good many feet away. "I've been watching you much more closely these past few years and I admit that I am both impressed and troubled."

"You're a psychopathic murderer. What's there to be troubled about?"

"You take yourself far too seriously," Slade tsked. "Always the hero and never the human. You haven't taken a vacation since your little debacle with Brushogun- and that hardly qualifies as anything but work."

"I fail to see how that's any of your concern," Robin hissed. "Or why it would concern you in the first place."

"Because I have a long life before me, Robin. I want to keep it interesting."

"And so you figure that I should be your longstanding rival? No thank you."

A grin appeared under the metal mask, "A rival? Perhaps, still. But I was thinking of something a bit more enjoyable than watching you fight me." Robin kept his mouth shut and eyes narrowed as the master villain spoke. "I want to watch as you surrender everything you hold dear at my feet.

"I swear, if you hurt my friends-"

"Let's keep them out of this one, shall we?" Slade sighed as he walked around the teen, his tempo focused but unrushed. "We both have played our parts well- too well, I fear. With my help you've become one of the greatest heroes of your time."

"With _your_ help?" Robin sneered and Slade turned to him.

"Absolutely. Who do you think trained you? Who challenged you? Who gave you reason upon reason to stand and fight? Do you really think you'd be _half_ the man you are without _me_?" His eye leered and robin glared back in silence. "But, of course, that's why I'm here. I've trained you so well that you've forgotten how to be anything _but_ a hero."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It is when you forget _yourself_ along the way. Fool boy, you've become more of a machine than your cybernetic friend. All I want to do is give you a simple reminder of _really_ exists under that mask."

"And what's in it for you?" Robin tensed when he heard Slade's pacing stop behind him. His eyes widened as a strong hand snaked around his abdomen and gave his muscles a hard grab.

"Oh, I'm sure the road to this lesson will be rich in its own rewards."

Robin stayed silent, trying to comprehend the weight of those words. His mouth opened just a tiny bit, though the very idea of speaking had not begun to form in his brain. The hand was joined by its equal and began to roughly explore the muscles through Robin's uniform. It was only when one had began to slip under the bright green pants that the teen was able to form a word- a single, powerless word.

"Don't."

Slade smiled under his mask and the hand traveled further. The young man under his grasp kept his breathing low and shaky, trying to hide his fear but Slade knew better. His hand closed around the limp mass of flesh and gave it a light squeeze, making the boy hiss just a bit.

"You see what I mean? Any other boy your age would be hard by now." He gave the member a small stroke with his thumb. "And yet you're holding out... Tell me, did you undergo such rigorous training that you can withstand any advances? Or is it that you never gave in and therefore never learned to enjoy such moments of physical satisfaction?"

Robin let out a small gasp as Slade's hand squeezed harder and his penis began to firm in his grip. The villain smiled at this small victory and used his other hand to push the green pants down, further freeing the hero's erection from the tight confinements as he began to pump in a slow but steady motion.

"Ah-aah!" Robin whimpered and tried to twist free as a blush rushed across his face, "No…"

"You're refusing me- but your body isn't," Slade hissed and the teen's breath came faster and heavier in response. "Now is your chance, Robin. Escape that fate you gave yourself years ago- if only for a small moment."

"Please," Robin moaned though his hips bucked into Slade's hand. The only feeling strong enough to compare with the intensity of the sensation was unbridled hate. Hate, for him, was good, it kept him fighting, kept him strong- but this… this feeling that rivaled the one extreme sentiment he allowed himself, overwhelmed him completely. He was powerless.

Robin had always considered anything that was unnecessary to fighting unnecessary to life. He'd often awoken to soiled sheets and rock-hard erections but he never paid them any mind. He'd clean himself off, wash the sheets, and begin his daily regimen of training, fighting, and waiting for the next evil ploy to surface. He never once took the time to soothe away his most manly of urges, he only let them boil down and evaporate to nothing. Heroes didn't have the time for such things.

"Haa-ah!" Robin cried out as he felt the strangest of sensations building up inside him. It was a hot and unsteady feeling, pooling down into his penis and suddenly bursting out into the gloved hand of his assailant. He panted for breath, allowing his mind to catch up with his body.

His first semi-intentional orgasm.

"That was quick." A voice like Slade's echoed in his brain.

He unconsciously let his head fall back onto Slade's chest, ignoring the feeling of the villain's breath moving from behind his mask and tumbling over the hero's black hair. It was the sound of metal clasps coming undone that snapped him back into reality. He struggled to see more but the villain was behind and to the side of him, making the angle uncomfortable… but he _had to try_. He _had_ to see. His eyes widened behind his mask as scene seemed to move in slow motion before him. Slade's left hand lifted his faceplate by the chin, slowly, painfully revealing a scoundrel's smile and the very tip of a narrow nose before his right hand was lifted to view, covered in Robin's cum. The villain's teeth parted and a thick tongue extended out to lick away the viscous liquid before it lost its warmth to the cool air. The smile turned content and the left hand lowered the mask back to its position.

'_Caucasian; male; mid-to early thirties; facial hair: light silver, maybe white; no visible scarring._' Robin repeated the freshly learned facts inside his head as if he would forget them- though he never would. Every fact he _ever _learned about the villain was embedded deep within his mind.

Slade laughed and pulled the chains from the hooks that held them in place. Robin fell to his knees and quickly pulled his pants to cover himself. "Calculating as ever, aren't you?" The larger man chided. Of course Slade had seen right through him. "This is exactly what I mean, Robin. You're too preoccupied with your own obsessions to enjoy being human. A literal slave to your own compulsions, aren't you?"

Robin growled and tried to kick the villain behind him, but he was forced to stop as he reached the length of the chain with a loud crack of metal testing metal.

Slade moved fast to recapture the chains attached to Robin's wrists. He hoisted the boy's arms in the air and quickly pinned the boy's calves under his knees, "Heroes that don't learn to take breaks will often break down before their time. Remember that." His free hand moved down Robin's chest and rested on his groin, "And you're not a child anymore, Robin. Buy yourself a cup." The smirk behind the two-toned mask was practically audible.

The young hero bared his teeth and hissed wildly as he tried to break free of the villain's grasp. He growled as Slade shoved him forward as he stood to his feet and began to walk away.

"Don't forget what I've said, _hero_. You may be tested in future lessons."

Robin let out a low and frustrated roar as Slade disappeared from his sight. He thrashed about madly trying to free himself from the chains but failing. He took a moment to compose himself, letting his fast and heated breath simmer down to a single inhale and a long, focused exhale. He opened his eyes to the chains once again and found the network of rusted hooks where they were attached to the floor. Once freed, he walked to his utility belt and pulled out his lock-picks, making short work of the shackles.

He groaned and rubbed his newly freed wrists and ankles before walking out of the abandoned building with an angry frown planted firmly on his features.

Slade only smiled as he watched the teen climb onto his bike. He revved the engine once and let a cloud of smoke billow up behind him before taking his fingers from the brake a speeding away into the darkness of Jump City.

It was a slow but promising start.

* * *

My chapters are usually quite short, I apologize for that. I also cannot guarantee steady updates at this time- but reviews certainly play a HUGE part in motivating me to write and publish, so if you want more, you must let me know. I appreciate all reviews- flames and vegan doughnuts alike- but if there's something you don't like about my writing, please tell me why so I can try to avoid it in future chapters/stories.

Until next time, then!

-Kuro


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Teen Titans, Teen Titans characters, or any affiliated plotlines belonging to the show.

You guys are awesome! I knew I would love writing for you! I've replied to all reviews so far and hopefully I'll be able to continue doing that. And don't be afraid to chat back! I love talking to readers! Also, I forgot to mention earlier that I don't have a beta. Mistakes will be made, annoying and occasionally hilarious typos will result. Chapter 2 is very short but I wanted to try and put it out as quickly as possible. Thanks and loves!

* * *

Robin threw his helmet against the wall and cursed loudly. He'd called the other Titans and told them it was a false alarm, but he'd waited until he was close enough to the tower to beat them home. He didn't feel like talking, he only wanted a shower.

The teen stomped up to his room, letting the door close automatically before he pressed the key-pad to lock it. More stomping occurred as he entered the bathroom and tore off his uniform, cringing slightly as his underwear clung to him for a bit longer than he liked. He looked down at the dried cum on his uniform and sneered. He would burn it.

But before that, he would get his shower. He set the temperature to practically scalding and stepped inside, wincing as the hard jets hit his skin and washed away at least some of the aggravation. He growled and pressed his palms against the marble, bending his neck and letting the water cascade down his dark hair. He'd begun growing it out about a year and a half ago, but he often missed being able to spike it.

"Fuck," he whispered to the floor and made an expression that landed somewhere between murderous intent and mental fatigue. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This wasn't the first time Slade had won a fight but it was the first time Robin didn't have physical wounds to distract him from his defeat.

His nose wrinkled when he reached his hand down to clean himself off. He started at the base, letting the water and his skin clean off the tacky substance. Halfway to the tip, he began to feel hard. "Fuck," he repeated breathlessly, pulling his hand away and trying to make the erection go away. It didn't.

His mind uncontrollably drifted back to the scene he'd just lived through and, as if the villain were standing right next to him, Robin could hear the hot breath in his ear, feel the hands moving over his body. He shivered and reached his hand back down to the hard mass with a blush. He didn't really want to… but it felt too good to stop.

He moaned as he stroked himself clumsily. Slade was better at it, but that couldn't be helped. Robin frowned. What Slade had done was wrong in many ways… but he liked to think he was mature enough to admit that, wrong as it was, the feeling of it made him want more.

He gripped a bit harder, trying to mimic what the villain had done to him but it wasn't even close. Slade knew how hard to touch and where to let his fingers play. Robin didn't. He tried though, stroking harder and faster; using his free hand to grab his long hair and wrench it backwards. He imagined that's what Slade would do; pull his hair back to expose the veins and tendons of his neck so that he could capture them with his teeth. Slade's mouth… it was the first time he'd seen it and already he wanted to know what it tasted like. The way his tongue slithered out from behind the perfect if not slightly pointed teeth…

Robin hummed and bit his lip, closing his eyes as he sank to his knees and stroked himself. He thrust his hips slowly, testing the curving motion and deciding that he liked it. He sped up and mumbled Slade's name.

It almost startled him to hear it called out like that… so desperate and erotic… As though he was begging out of the sheer need for more.

"Fuck," he hissed. This was bad. He shouldn't be thinking the things he was thinking. He was a hero, damn it, not a whore! He gasped and moaned as he moved faster, the guilty feelings only making him hotter. He could feel the same pressure building; it was less powerful than before but still strong enough to make his body shake with anticipation.

It felt good… too good… heroes weren't meant to feel this satisfied.

'_Maybe you're in the wrong line of work,_' Slade's voice invaded his brain. He was only imagining it, he knew, but he didn't force the thoughts away- he probably _couldn't_ force them away. '_Like I've told you before, Robin; you and I are so very much alike_.' The hero moved his hand faster and panted at the feeling while his thoughts helped to push him over the edge, '_Only I know what you really want, Robin. Only I can give it to you._' Robin whimpered as he felt himself on the edge, coming closer and closer to that hard release… '_Don't fight it_.'

He allowed himself to pretend that his hand belonged to Slade as it moved up and down his shaft. He was too hot and bothered to try and remember how Slade had done it; what he lacked in skill, he always made up for in tenacity.

'_Come for me, little bird._'

Robin groaned as a line of hot white liquid sprayed from the tip and dribbled down his shaft. Not nearly as much as when Slade did it, but enough to feel- at least momentarily- satisfied. The teen ran his fingers over the tip, collecting a small bit of cum and bringing it to his lips. His tongue reached out to meet the mess on his fingers, closing around them gently and sucking on the tips as he moaned once again.

He couldn't quite describe the taste… it was warm… and salty… just a tad bitter. He wondered briefly what Slade would taste like as he wobbled to his feet and cleaned himself off yet again. The tiniest of smirks played over his face when he turned off the water and stepped out onto the cold white tiles of his bathroom floor.

He didn't want the fantasy to be over yet, but it was. The other Titans were likely back by now and they would want answers. He ran his hand over the mirror to clear it of the steam, and stared into his reflection. He frowned as the hero stared back at him. It wasn't what he wanted to see.

Robin lifted his hand once more and pulled away the black mask that covered his eyes. Dick Grayson stared back. He felt human, a sensation that both enlightened and weakened him as the pretty blue eyes stared him down.

This is what Slade wanted. A human hero. Maybe if things went further between them, Robin would see what was under that metal faceplate worn by the villain, and, just to be fair, he'd allow the other to unmask him as well.

The hero mentally flinched and quickly re-secured his mask to his face. He'd taken the fantasy too far. Slade was still Slade and Dick Grayson was still Robin of the Teen Titans. There were some things in life that were simply meant to remain unpolluted by want- heroes were supposed to know that… Robin knew it… Dick Grayson just needed a small reminder.

* * *

Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing! It's my goal to have at least a little smut in each and every chapter. I'm also taking requests from readers. Do you have a favorite BDSM scenario you would like to see in this story? Tell me and I'll do my best to write it in!

-Kuro


	3. Chapter 3

The Teen Titans do not belong to me. (But I'm trying to hire Slade in order to help me fix that.)

As stated before, this is intended to be a smut fic- meaning that, unlike most stories, the plot revolves around sex and not the other way around. Unfortunately for you, this is a more plot-heavy chapter with only a small lemon wedge. I'll make it up to you later, I promise.

* * *

One month later…

The cheetah huffed for breath as it dodged behind one of the stone pillars. "Dude," it said after morphing into a short green boy, "he's nuts!"

"Tell me about it, BB." Cyborg said as he looked at a sonar map. "I didn't think we've _ever_ worked against this many drones at once."

Robin's bo-staff slammed against the ground and the hero landed on his feet beside it. He shot them a glare and barked, "Less talking, more fighting!" Quick as he came, the boy was gone, back fighting the drones and leaving the other two boys to shoot each other disgruntled looks.

For the past month, their leader had been running them ragged. Even Starfire had lost her usual abundance of energy- something that Raven didn't particularly mind. When they weren't exercising, they were training, when they weren't training, they were working, and when they weren't working, they were in various states of sleep. They began to treasure the time Robin dedicated to his private research of criminals. He'd coop himself in his room for hours looking over papers and piecing together small clues- or so they thought.

Really though, the only thing Robin was focusing on during those times was his own frustrations. His obsession with Slade was nothing new. He still felt seething anger at the mere thought of the man; but that anger didn't carry him like it used to- at least not when the aggression he _should_ have directed at the man was now directed at getting himself off.

He cursed Slade's name each and every time he did it. He hated him. But the feelings the man left on his body, even if they were imaginary, were more than enough to leave the hero in a wet daze. He wondered, often absentmindedly but on occasion it was intentional, if Slade would ever do it again. He felt no reason in denying that he didn't want it to happen, but as a hero he understood that he would not- _could not_- allow that to happen. Ever.

Well… ever _again_.

Robin blasted through the line of drones, hitting all the vital spots and sneering as the bots crashed to the ground. It wasn't enough. The bots were too familiar, too easy to take down, too cold. He was sick of it. He wanted the heat and the fire and the anger. He wanted-

As if on cue, the alarm went off. The drones that hadn't fallen to the ground immediately disengaged. Beast Boy let out a long groan.

"Duuuude! I'm too tired to save the city! Can't we just-"

"No!" Robin growled as he read the information that arrived with the alarm. "We'll rest when we get back. There's something at the power plant…"

***

Robin's heart flopped when he saw the mechanical mercenaries turn to face them. Of course, it _had_ to be Slade. (Never mind the fact that for the past week he jumped almost too eagerly at every alarm, thinking it_ was _him.)

"They're after the core," Raven's voice sounded exhausted and deadpan, even for her.

"Let's just take them down fast so we can go home," Cyborg grumbled and his arm turned into a cannon that he then pointed at the robots; several were taken out before a small explosion released a cloud of thick smoke into the air.

"Cyborg, get the core!" Robin yelled, knowing full well that the half-robot was the only one with heat-sensor vision and sonar capabilities. "The rest of you, cover Cy and take down as many bots as you can! GO!"

A hail of thunderous sounds erupted from the smoke. Robin closed his eyes and concentrated, ignoring the lack of proper breathing air and opting to instead to find and take down as many of the damned machines as he could. He listened, hearing the heavy footsteps and striking quickly. He smirked as he heard the android fall to the ground before striking his next target, then the next and the next.

"Get it off me, man!" Cyborg yelled and Robin turned his head into the white cloud. A menacing growl was heard next, followed by Raven's mantra; somewhere in the distance Starfire could be heard fighting also.

Robin hardly even had time to turn his head before Slade was at his back.

A thick arm looped behind Robin, gathering his own arms at the elbows and pulling him a few inches off the ground.

"Slade," Robin growled. "Don't tell me. This is just another one of your distractions, isn't it?" He half-hoped it was.

"On the contrary, Robin. That core is a very valuable piece of machinery. I'd very much like to have it."

Robin listened closely. Something in Slade's voice was different, it was _clearer_, somehow. He froze when he felt a rough patch of stubble graze his cheek. Slade wasn't wearing his mask. The hero let out a little gasp at this discovery, wondering if he could see well enough through the smoke…

"The smoke is too thick to see anything of value," Slade said dryly, as if reading the boy's thoughts. Robin speculated wildly in his mind why Slade would be bold enough to not wear his mask- even though the smoke-screen was impossibly thick, it was a dumb move. The villain's free hand moved over Robin's body, leaving hot traces of where the contact had been. The boy let out a small moan as the hand reached over and pulled at the neckline of his costume. The fabric gave way quite easily, giving Slade's mouth clear passage to the boy's neck. He smirked and bent forward, capturing the skin with tongue and teeth and earning stifled moans from his captive.

Somewhere, deep inside Robin's mind, he was swearing very loudly. Not loudly enough, however, to drown out the whimper and moan he handed over to the villain as his skin was sucked and bitten. Robin knew he was perfectly able to kick his legs- something he should have done immediately, but instead he settled for scolding himself later. Kicking Slade now would break away the connection and it was simply _too good_ to stop.

Slade smiled as he kissed the younger man's neck, tasting the salt and shame. He released Robin's arms, preferring to have his other hand free to roam down to Robin's hardening length so that he could stroke it through the green material. Still no cup, Slade mused to himself. He would have to fix that. He didn't want any vital parts damaged.

Robin bucked slightly into the touch and moaned quietly. Slade loved the sound but decided now was the time to end the fun. He _had_ come here for something and it _wasn't_ this. Robin grit his teeth as the villain pulled away quickly and covered his face with the mask.

"I'd love to continue, Robin, but we're wasting valuable time. We can pick this up again when you and I are not so busy trying to ruin each other's lives."

Robin took a swing though the messy fog and missed; Slade returned the favor and sent him flying backwards on the ground. He choked as the wind temporarily left his lungs but quickly recovered when he heard Starfire shrieking and the blasting from Cyborg's cannon increasing.

"Dude! Where did they all come from?!"

Robin raced through the smoke to the sounds of his teammates. Thankfully, civil duty had shaken him enough to make him forget about the urges his body was telling him he needed to look after- and, by the time he reached his friends, his body had forgotten also.

The haze was beginning to clear and Robin could now vaguely see the hoards of bots that tried to kill him. That was a plus. He took down as many as he could before the smoke cleared enough so that he could see Slade watching from the one of the catwalks that networked the ceiling. The man was leaning over the railing in a relaxed position and, although no one could see it, it was obvious that he was smiling.

Robin glared and shot his grapple upwards, letting it carry him up so that he could face the villain on even ground.

"A smarter man would've taken off by now," he mocked, eyeing the metal briefcase that undoubtedly had the core inside it.

"A smarter man, not a better one," Slade assured, "I was merely giving you time to recover before I beat you."

"Playing by the rules isn't your style…"

"Normally, no. But I want our arrangement to work out and I can't do that unless you can trust that what I tell you is true."

"There is no arrangement and I'll never trust you."

"Pity," Slade said as he picked up the suitcase and turned away, "I was only going to tell you where to meet me tonight where I will be waiting… unarmed, of course."

Robin glared back, unsure of what to say or how to first attack. He knew whatever Slade was planning was a trap; that much was obvious. But what _was_ he planning?

"Midnight, tonight. Meet me at the _old_ headquarters." Slade turned his back and began to walk away but he paused to turn and say, "Oh, and Robin… I don't expect you to come unarmed but I do expect that you come _alone_."

Robin lunged forward to attack and Slade grabbed him by the ankle. Faster than the boy had time to think, he was spun around and thrown over the guardrail. His heart raced as he reached for his grapple; but before his hand closed around it, another force grabbed his shoes and held him upside down over his friends as they fought. Robin hung precariously for a moment before looking _up _at his shoes which were stuck to a very large piece of metal.

"A magnet," he breathed and then looked wildly around for Slade. Robin sneered. The villain was gone. His eyes then fell down to his teammates. They continued fighting as more and more of the bots retreated, soon leaving an exhausted team and an empty, coreless plant.

"Fuck."

* * *

A/N

Oh, that Robin, such a potty-mouth! He should only be saying that word to Slade- and only during certain activities…. Hmm. Note to self…

Reviews are adored (And they keep me writing)! I haven't received any suggestions about S&M scenes but my mind is having a pretty good time coming up with my own. But I still want to know what you guys want! Bondage? Blood-play? Plastic dinosaurs?

(Chapter 4 will be another Solo-Robin. Sorry about that! But, if all goes as planned, chapter 5 will be slash.)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story- and I gladly give it to anyone that wants it ^,~

A/N: This is another short chapter. The next will be a longer, I promise.

* * *

"I am much looking forward to 'the nap.'" Starfire moaned, her eyes half lidded as the doors to the Titan's headquarters opened wide. Raven gave a slow nod in response, Cyborg grumbled and Beast Boy only managed a gurgle.

Robin sighed through his nose. Things would have gone differently if he hadn't run them ragged all through the past week- but that, for obvious reasons, was not why Robin was really upset. He practically _handed_ himself to the villain- A fact that worked in Slade's advantage, of course.

He had no one to blame but himself. This wasn't _their_ defeat; it was _his, his_ very own_ personal defeat_. Courtesy of Slade. His mind drifted back to the works that still echoed in his ear.

'_Midnight, tonight. Meet me at the old headquarters'_

He knew what that meant. 'The _old _headquarters.' He was of course referring to the factory they had stayed at during Robin's _apprenticeship_. He growled at the thought and walked from the living where his team had already collapsed in their respective places.

Robin locked the door behind him and quickly placed his hand over his groin, massaging it lightly through the material as Slade had done. He was disgusted with himself but he couldn't stop. The realization hit him hard and he tried to pull himself away. He waited, hands at his sides, for the wretched thing to go down but nothing happened- if anything, it only became harder. He sighed pushed the green material down to his knees. He couldn't stop it even if he tried. What had Slade _done_ to him?

He paused… wait… _Had_ Slade done something to him? Maybe… Maybe he had… He racked his brain, trying to think back to a week ago. He was looking for the bomb... he thought he'd found it… but that's when Slade grabbed his wrists and bound him in manacles… after that… it was a bit of a blur… the usual talking… and then…

"Damn," Robin breathed, trying for a little variety in his curse words. Nothing came to mind. No pills, no injections, no… "Nanos!" Robin breathed and began muttering aloud, "Maybe he somehow put them into my bloodstream again... It's possible… I haven't been shot with anything… but the team eats at a lot of the same places. Slade has enough money and influence for bribery… I could have ingested them… Yeah… They could be causing my heart rate to increase periodically, creating the semi-euphoric highs, elevated temperature, the blush, even..." he looked down at his member as if expecting it to nod in agreement with his realization.

Robin let out a small laugh. Cyborg still had his Nano-Sweeper. It would be only too easy removing them from his system and return to normal. He chuckled louder, so proud of his induction skills. He deserved a reward for that… The hero slowly ran his gloved hand down his chest, circling his navel once before descending down upon his throbbing penis.

He sank to the floor, slowly, giving himself time to adjust while his hand tightened its grip. He moaned softly and began stroking. He started at the base, gently pulling up until he reached the tip and swirled his thumb around it. His skills had improved quite significantly over the past weeks, but then again, he had significantly more practice.

"Nmn!…Ss-" Robin could feel the name sliding over his tongue but it was too late to stop it. "Slade…" The hero paused a moment, deciding that his recent _sexual_ fixation was also the result of the Nanobots. They would be gone soon, though. What was the harm in having a parting fantasy? One last little indulgence wouldn't hurt. "Mmm! Harder, please…"

'_You like it hard, don't you, Robin?_' The imaginary Slade worked his hand over Robin's shaft and nearly purred in his ear. '_Let's make it harder._'

Robin bucked into his own hand and moaned, quickly sticking in two of his gloved fingers and sucking them readily, imagining it was Slade who was doing so. He gasped as the saliva-covered fingers moved downward, feigning innocence as he moved them down and behind his hard length.

"Nn… no…" he whimpered prettily as he pressed the fingers closer to his entrance. "S-Slade!" To Robin's dismay, the fingers didn't go in as easily as he thought they would. He figured they'd slip right in but… maybe he was doing it wrong. He tried for a different angle, bending his wrist more before he tried again. He bit his lip at the small pain but met with significantly greater success as he pushed his fingers deeper and moaned.

"Aaah! Slade!" He leaned forward and stroked himself harder as the fingers went deeper. It was the first time he had the courage to explore _that part_ of his fantasy and so far he was mildly disappointed. With Slade, he could only assume, it would done with more precision, more skill, more… girth. Robin shivered slightly at the prospect, possibly out of fear but the look on his face said otherwise. Men with egos as big as Slade's usually came with matching parts.

Robin shifted to his back and felt himself coming closer. He clenched himself around his fingers and gasped. He thrust his hips into the air quite unskillfully until he pushed himself far enough to orgasm.

He hissed through his teeth as he pumped the last of it out, letting it land on his shirt. It was dirty anyway. The hero then sat back against the floor and panting heavily with a smirk planted over his features.

Well, that had been _fun_. But now he was free to move on to more important things, namely getting rid of the Nanos.

He took a very quick shower and changed into a new uniform before walking out of his room with a cocky look on his face.

* * *

Robin's eyes widened at the readout. "Impossible," he murmured, re-reading it for the third time. There were no Nanos… his system was clear… he was perfectly normal… _Normal_? He balked at the thought. There was no way in hell _this_ was normal! Slade had done something! He _had_ to have done something!

Alas, the second Robin's mind drifted to the villain his body reacted.

'_Oh, I could do something, if you like_.' He shooed husky the voice away from his mind and ignored his body's reaction as best he could. He had become so accustomed to his fantasies that Slade's voice readily manifested within his brain. This was bad. Very bad. Robin felt a small stab in his chest and knew it was the sliver of hope that had dislodged itself to float away. He sighed and looked at his communicator to read the time.

It wasn't long before midnight…. Robin made a face and put the communicator away. He was left with a tough choice, stay home and try to find out for himself what was causing his… situation… or walk blindly and stupidly into Slade's trap with a vague hope that the villain wouldn't kill him- or fuck him, on the spot.

'_Not that you would mind the last one_.' Slade's voice chuckled in his ear and Robin growled again. Slade was even vexing inside his own mind.

Robin scratched his head and tried to think. He was so _sure_ it was Nano-tech… and yet… he also supposed it wasn't like Slade to try something twice. That led Robin down a new path of thought. Slade had stolen something today… something small but powerful… if he went to speak with him… maybe he could find out more than just what was happening to his body…

He mulled it over in his brain. It was a risk. A _big_ one. A big, _stupid_ one- especially considering that he would go alone as Slade had requested.

No. Robin shook his head unconsciously. It was too risky.

* * *

Thanks again to reviewers! It makes me smile whenever I see a new review- and it gets me writing!

Mostly everyone has requested bondage- which I am only too happy to supply. If all goes as planned, a full lemon will take place at chapter 7 and there will be light bondage involved- heavier bondage to follow in later chapters, of course. Ann, the plastic dinosaur bit was a joke... Although I think it would be utterly hilarious to see it done.

I'm still taking requests also, so if you have a favorite kink you'd like to see in writing, pray, share with the class. Most anything goes- _most _anything.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I still own nothing. (Cannot afford Slade)

We're still not into the hard stuff yet. But hang in there! For now, you can enjoy this~

(If you just want to get your vitamins, skip down a bit)

* * *

Robin parked his bike outside the terribly large building and growled. He _had_ decided not to come… but his loss earlier that night had frustrated him. Heroes couldn't afford to lose and it _was_ his fault that they had lost. He wanted, no, _needed_ to make up for it.

He'd taken some precautions, of course. He was wearing an extra GPS besides the one in his communicator and, unless he returned before sunrise to deactivate it, a message would appear in the tower's security system, letting everyone know where he was and more importantly who he was with.

The boy stepped into the utility elevator and pressed a series of buttons, knowing somehow that Slade hadn't bothered to change the code; there was simply no need, he wouldn't use the base anymore, not when the Titans knew where it was.

The elevator stopped its descent and the doors creaked open. Robin glared into the darkness that was occasionally broken by the hot white lights. He always hated those. They gave him headaches. A sneer firmly planted itself on Robin's face and he began to walk. He knew right where to go.

Slade, of course, was waiting on his (for lack of a better term) throne, looking impatient, cruel, and all other niceties generally used to describe the man.

"Robin," he said, not standing to his feet. This bothered the hero. Slade knew he was armed; hell, he had the bo-staff waiting in his hands, he should have readied himself more carefully if he expected a fight. The teen snorted through his nose. It was just a game to him, a simple mind trick. Slade was so very fond of them. "You're a bit late."

"I don't feel like witty banter right now," Robin warned. "Where is the core and what do you plan to do with it?"

Slade sighed and rested his covered chin on his hand, "I have no intention of discussing that with you at this time. If you wanted to know that, then you should have caught me before I escaped from you and your teammates."

"You-! That-!" Robin could only spit out angry little words that couldn't even string themselves into a decent sentence.

"Don't take your failure out on me, boy. It's the truth. However, that was then and this is now. I didn't invite you here as part of a diabolical plan."

"I don't care what you invited me here for," Robin growled and readied his bo-staff. He hated how the man before him always seemed so calm, so in control. "I came here to get that core back."

"No."

"Wrong answer!" Robin lunged forward, swinging his bo-staff with the intent to hit the masked face. Unfortunately for him, Slade had seen the attack coming for miles and grabbed the staff before it had the chance to hit him.

"Thrilling," he said dryly. "But your anger is clouding your judgment. That can hardly even be considered a poor excuse for an attack. I expect better of you." He gave the staff a quick pull, dragging the hero forward just close enough so that Slade could wrap his foot under one of Robin's knees and pull him off balance. "I hope you aren't this unskilled all night."

The hero crashed to the floor with a grunt. What the hell was wrong with him?! He was a much better fighter than this! And Slade! What the hell was he doing, anyway?! The hero was on the floor, open to the kind of easy attacks that Slade took great pleasure in committing- not because it was _easy_, no, no, he used easy attacks simply because they were _there_.

But he didn't attack and that puzzled Robin. He scrambled to his feet, still expecting an attack that simply did not come. Slade only chuckled and shifted his chin to the other hand.

"Why aren't you fighting?" Robin asked, returning to a ready stance- minus on bo-staff that Slade had managed to take away from him during the attack.

"There is a time and place for fighting, but this simply does not qualify. I will defend myself from your attacks- if you can call them that- but I have no intention of attacking right now."

"Why not?" The hero huffed and his eyes narrowed. "That's what you called me here to do."

"Is it?" Slade asked, though it was more like an accusation than a question. He was getting bored.

"Of course it is. You're trying to trap me! Why else would you… Oh… Oh! The Titans! This isn't a trap for me! You're distracting me to get to the Titans!"

"Once again I must remind you that I intend to keep them out of this."

"Then why-?"

"Why, indeed?" His voice was low and deep, a practically predatory purr. His tone suddenly sounded more amused and that made Robin's hair stand on edge. The hero fought the urge to step backwards as Slade stood to his feet and walked closer. He wouldn't give in to intimidation this time. "There's always been a tension between us, Robin. It would be stupid to suppose you haven't noticed it. What I did…" He paused and the dark haired teen was sure he was smiling under the mask, "was merely give you a small _push_ in the wrong direction."

The villain chuckled and Robin's eyes narrowed, "What did you do to my body?"

"It's called a hand-job." He began to circle the other, arms placidly crossed behind his back. "You were there, you should know."

"No, that's not what I meant. You… you did something!"

"I could do more, if you like," Slade's hand quickly snaked around Robin's waist, then moved down to stroke his thigh; his other hand then blocked the attack launched by the boy. He got what he wanted though. Robin's face was already bright red and he was already slightly hunched over trying to hide the slight bulging. Teenage hormones were indeed the greatest weapon of all.

The hero waited for another assault, but Slade merely sauntered back to his throne and sat down. Robin only balked before lunging forward and pinning the villain to the throne. "What was _that_?!"

"A proposition." When Robin only stared back with an incredulous look on his face, Slade continued speaking after his eye darted down the teen's slender form. "Your body already seems to agree to it."

Damn! Robin was hoping he wouldn't notice! Then again, how could he _not_? The teen wasn't particularly large, but tight green lycra did not do much to hide a bulge. His blush quickly deepened and he desperately tried to think of unpleasant things… cold showers, Trigon, Starfire's cooking, _anything_… but the grey eye simply leered back at the boy, waiting for him to do or say something.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Robin simply denied it and then mentally kicked himself as Slade burst out into laughter. He released the large body quickly but did not retreat any further.

"Do I need to point it out to you?" He boomed, "I'd be glad to, boy!"

The hero was, to say the least, taken aback at this sudden display of emotion. Slade never seemed to show more than cryptic chuckles or silent and invisible smirks. This… this full and unpretentious laughter was… frightening.

"You seem to be struggling with this more than I thought you would," he said once he finally calmed his mirth. "It's to be expected, I suppose. I didn't anticipate having to go this far but… I'll sweeten the deal for you… We'll give each other what we _both_ want and as an added bonus… I'll tell you what I plan to take next. The deal is more than fair."

Robin snorted at the villain's use of the word 'fair' but then appeared to be considering the offer. "There's no guarantee that you won't lie; so no deal. I want the core back."

"You're trying my patience, boy," Slade's voice was beginning to sound angry which, oddly enough, was more of a comfort than a curse to the hero. Anger from Slade was familiar, expected… safe. "You will agree to my generous offer- if you do not, I will simply leave and you will be left with _nothing_."

An ultimatum, quick and simple. _That_ was more like the Slade he knew. Robin's eyes narrowed and he grit his teeth. "_Fine_," he growled but then realized he didn't really know what he was agreeing to. "Wait… What are the terms?"

"Simple. I want you to finish what I started." His voice really was a low purr now and it sent electric shivers down the hero's spine. "Start by taking off your clothing."

Robin glared, "No."

Slade reached forward and grabbed Robin's shirt with both hands, one clean and flawless move later, it was in two pieces and struggling to stay on his body. "You agreed, little bird. Next go the pants."

"N-no!" the smaller boy cowered slightly and defensively moved his hands to his pants.

"Then do it yourself," Slade's voice soothed. Robin blushed madly and his hands trembled as he slowly pulled the rag that was once his shirt and let it drop to the floor. "Now the-"

"I'm getting to that!" Robin hissed. The man stifled a laugh as the boy grumbled and swiftly removed his belt and pants. He clenched his fists, trying not to look nervous and failing completely at it. He waited for Slade to make a move on his now very exposed body- but, yet again, the villain did nothing but stare. "Well…" Robin grumbled, "Aren't you going to-"

"I told _you_ to finish the job," Slade's voice was far too calm for Robin's liking. It wasn't fair that he was the only one shivering and wanting…. Wait… wanting? The teen glanced down and found that he was indeed _very_ wanting. _Damn!_ Slade noticed this too and smiled under his mask. "I would be happy to lend a hand- or more specifically, a _leg_, to help you."

He gave a small motion to his right thigh, spreading his legs a bit and giving room for the boy to straddle it.

With another grumble and a deeper blush, Robin moved forward and slowly lowered himself down on the leg. It was then that he realized Slade was not in his usual armor… or at least part of it was missing. He quickly looked the villain over and realized that only the upper-leg plates were missing- then it dawned on him. Slade had had left them off _on purpose_. He knew exactly where their little arrangement would take them and he had prepared accordingly. That bastard.

Slade chuckled and it was obvious that he knew Robin had figured it out. He brought his gloved hand over and roughly cupped his cheek giving it a quick but hard pinch before his middle finger trailed down between the cheeks and slowly rubbed the opening.

Robin had never been so proud of himself for doing absolutely nothing. He'd managed to strangle his moan before it escaped and resisted the desire to buck slightly at the touch. Unabashed, Slade reached into his own belt and pulled out a small container. His eye narrowed slightly in a humored gesture as Robin watched him squeeze out the contents onto his fingers before moving them back to the boy's behind and slowly press one inside.

His body went rigid for a moment and Robin unconsciously grabbed onto Slade's shoulders, his face taking on a small expression of panic. He quickly cleared his face of that emotion when he heard his elder chuckle.

"Relax," he whispered in a thick and husky tone as his finger moved deeper. Robin flinched when he felt another finger joining the first, spreading him a bit wider before both fingers brushed against something inside the hero that made him unleash a sudden moan. The young man's eyes widened under the mask and he snapped his mouth shut. He had _not_ meant to do that.

Slade let out a low hum and hit the spot again, making Robin bite his lip and whimper. He knew exactly what he was doing to the boy and he couldn't help but smile at the easy victory as Robin clenched around him and bucked his hips slightly against the thick leg. He smirked and moved his other hand to play with Robin's erection as a third finger slipped inside.

"Do that again," Robin pleaded in a soft whisper as he leaned forward to grind himself into the leg. Heroes were not supposed to do this… he knew that…

Slade thrust the fingers in deeper and watched with utter enjoyment as the hero squirmed; soon, he rubbed against the prostate and watched the teen nearly fall apart.

"Make it deeper," he said as he gasped and moaned into Slade's neck. "… God.. _Nnh!_"

Slade chuckled and let his hand encircle the other's hard length so that Robin could thrust into it as he moaned.

It was wrong. They both knew it. Slade didn't care but Robin did. He knew he was not supposed to cross the line between hero and human- not in front of men like Slade. But he couldn't make himself care enough to stop. It felt good… very wrong… but… _very_ good.

The Titan inhaled with a sharp hiss as the fingers were removed. Slade kept his other hand waiting around Robin's cock but he hardly moved once the fingers were gone from his body. He was waiting for an attack, Slade mused to himself as he reached for his belt to pull out another small container and a strange but unassuming device.

He fiddled with it and it quickly became longer. Robin watched but said nothing as he coated the now obviously phallic thing in gel and moved it to the pale behind.

"This might sting," he warned but gave the other no chance to object as he slid it in with a swift motion that caused the teen to jolt and cry out loudly. Robin bucked at the stinging sensation inside him and ignored the soothing strokes on his penis. "Calm down," he heard Slade warn and he growled in response.

"That _hurts_."

"Deal with it," Slade growled right back and slid the dildo deeper. He took some pity on the boy, though, and angled it so that his prostate was brushed against with each little movement. That seemed to appease the hero well enough, or at least he stopped growling. Soon he even began to move with it, letting his thighs squeeze around Slade's leg, feeling the tight cords of muscle underneath the black cloth.

He let out a strained gasp and moved harder against Slade's hand.

"I.. I think I might…" Robin started to speak but he could bring himself to say those words in front of his archrival.

Slade, however, gave him no escapes, "Say it."

"I'm going to come," he groaned and moved faster, letting out a hard moan when Slade bounced his leg just enough to give the boy a rougher ride but not to disturb his balance.

"Good," Slade hummed, "Come for me."

Robin made a strangled cry as he felt it building inside him, that heated pressure that made his mind turn to jelly and set his body on fire. He didn't even realize it, but his gloved fingers moved up Slade's shoulders and rested at the base of his neck; the thumbs nearly touching at the center as if he were trying to choke the older man.

The villain noticed this- but chose to do nothing to stop it, realizing that it was probably an unconscious reflex from the hero. As much as Robin hated Slade, he still couldn't stop his body from wanting the elder's attention. Slade smirked at the thought and watched as Robin threw his head back and let out a long, hard moan as he came.

The hero gasped for air and let his body come back down to earth. He didn't really want to… coming down from that high would mean facing up to what he'd done… he wasn't ready for that.

"You've made quite a mess, young man," Slade chided and Robin looked down to see his cum splashed against the back uniform. The younger almost apologized, but stopped himself quickly. He wasn't going to apologize for something the other goaded him into doing! "You really should clean that up."

Robin blushed and stepped off of Slade's leg before crouching before him, making the elder spread his legs just a bit wider before moving between them. It wasn't that he found the job particularly rewarding… he just wasn't ready to face up to what he'd done. Even if it meant more trouble later, he wanted to avoid ending the little fantasy come to life.

He smirked when he felt Slade's thighs tense slightly under his touch. It was nice to know the man could be surprised on occasion; it made Robin feel in control. The younger let out a low hum as he extended his tongue and licked his own cum away. The taste had become all too familiar to him now so there was nothing of a flinch as he lapped up the mess.

When all the mess was gone, Robin continued to lick. Slade watched with curiosity and then surprise as the soft pink tongue moved deep between his legs and gave a long lick up his groin. Slade didn't feel it, of course, _he_ _was_ wearing a cup.

But that problem was rectified easily enough. Robin tugged at his leggings and Slade gladly lifted his hips to allow the cloth to be dragged down, the cup, now useless, fell to the floor with a clang.

Robin stared.

Slade stifled his laugh, "If it's too much for you, you can always quit while you're ahead."

He continued staring, wondering deeply why Slade bothered to be a villain when he could make _billions_ as a porn star. The young man was not even aware they could get that big. Did Slade have some bizarre mutation? Was he even _human_?

Another chuckle brought Robin's attention back to the real world. He glanced up to see a single amused eye staring back from an otherwise emotionless mask. He had the choice to pull back, but that would mean victory for the villain. Robin didn't want that, even as a human he forced himself to be fearless.

He extended his hand first, wrapping it around the base and slowly moving it up the shaft. The hero watched the man closely, noticing a slight shift in his sitting posture and a tiny, nearly silent, breath. Robin smiled as a small translucent bead of liquid appeared at the tip. He watched it closely as his fingers neared the top but then slid back down before gradually raking up the sides, making the tiny bead double in size. He smiled unconsciously at the feeling of the thick cock under his fingers, studying the blunt tip and venous sides.

It was obvious the villain was holding his breath, waiting for the hero to make his move. Robin smirked and leaned in to the tip, blowing on it lightly before gently placing his bottom lip over the milky precum and slowly circling it with his mouth. He allowed himself a small smile when Slade shifted slightly and ran his now bare hand through the dark hair.

Robin licked his lips and hummed before letting his tongue flick across the slit, causing the hand in the black hair to flinch slightly as if Slade wanted to grab hold but was, for unknown reasons, preventing himself from doing so. The younger pressed his mouth down, sucking lightly for only a small moment before his lips trailed the underside of the villain's penis nipping just softly enough to give what Robin hoped was a nice sensation.

When he reached the base, he again stuck out his tongue and dragged it back up the hard surface. He was feeling pretty confident about his performance until he once again reached the tip. The logical thing to do would be to take it in his mouth but… it really was very… very… _enormous_. He hated the idea of trying to struggle in front of his arch nemesis and he certainly didn't want to gag himself either.

Slade gave an inward sigh of relief. The way the teen had gone about it made him wonder if Robin had done this before. He never expected the hero to pull such risqué moves. But, with the sudden hesitation he realized it was nothing more than beginners luck. He liked that though, being Robin's first would hold a more significant place than being one of many. Status was an important thing, after all.

Robin took a deep breath and opened his mouth, sucking just a bit on the tip and trying to edge his way down. He wasn't able to get very far but Slade rewarded his efforts by slowly stroking his hair. Rather than force himself down and risk choking himself, Robin instead moved his hand up and down the shaft while licking, sucking, and otherwise teasing the tip. His other hand slowly moved to play with Slade's testicles, rolling them gently in his palm while he moaned.

Slade let out a small grunt and his grip tightened over Robin's hair, encouraging him to move faster. Robin smiled and sucked harder while his strokes became a bit tighter and faster. The balls in his hand tightened somewhat and Robin knew the other was close. He moaned loudly, sending hard vibrations through the member and letting his tongue push against the slit in quick but deliberate strokes.

Slade gave no verbal warning, he only let himself come hard onto Robin's lips. The hero pulled back slightly at first, more out of surprise than anything, but he returned to Slade's cock and pumped the rest out before licking it away.

It was salty, and very warm. There was the tiniest hint of metal to the taste, something Robin suspected Slade always tasted like.

"Good boy," Slade mused, flicking his thumb over Robin's chin to collect a small droplet of cum that had escaped him. He held it out and the teen closed his lips around the digit and sucked with a small moan.

Robin pulled back and sighed. He really had taken things too far. He'd enjoyed himself immensely… but now he was left with the aftermath. He told himself it wasn't worth the trouble, but his mind disagreed. He would do it all again- and for more than one reason. The physical pleasure was reason enough but he also had another reward…

"Alright, Slade. A deal's a deal. What are you going to take next?"

Slade made an amused sound under the mask, "back to hero work already? Alright, then. You've been _more_ than compliant." Robin glared more fiercely than a boy without pants ought to be able to, making Slade's grin even wider. "According to the Lunar calendar, Jupiter will be visible between the hours of eleven and midnight on the night of the new moon."

Robin blinked, "I didn't ask for a riddle, Slade. I _want_ answers. What do you plan on taking?"

"I plan on taking Jupiter," Slade tucked himself back into his pants and stood to his feet, Robin moved to the side- but only because the villain's crotch was suddenly trying to get close and personal- again. "And, no little bird. You didn't ask for a riddle. But you wouldn't believe me if I gave you a straight answer. Life's just not fair sometimes. You'll get over it, I'm sure."

Robin clenched his fists and grinded his teeth. He wasn't going to let Slade get away with this! Not after all he'd done!

"HEY!" He turned and snarled at the villain who had nearly made it to the exit, "I give you a blowjob and all you give me a stupid riddle?!" He stood and stomped his foot. "NO! Get back here and tell me _exactly_ what you're going to take!"

Slade leaned against the doorframe and his eye traveled down Robin's naked body with an unseen grin. "Don't you think you could be more intimidating with your clothing on your body instead of the floor? Not that I'm complaining, the view is quite enjoyable" He smirked and, though the hero couldn't see it, he _knew_ it was there. "And don't say I only gave you a riddle. I left you with a parting gift as well. You'll notice I left my athletic cup next to your pants. Take it in good health."

* * *

I hadn't planned on Slade giving out information, but Robin needed a bit of, hmm... _motivation_.

If you liked it, leave a review, please~! Also, seeing as it's almost Halloween, tell me what you're going to be!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

NOTICE: I am humbled by the awesome reviews you guys have left and I would like to reward you! But... I'm not quite sure how... I was thinking about sending my reviewers the first page or so of the next chapter BEFORE I publish it. What do you guys think? Is that something you would enjoy? Or would it be annoying to only have a peak?(I would send the whole thing, but FanFiction does not allow PMs over 8000 characters and formatting multiple messages to multiple people is more than my attention-span can muster).

It would have to be in a PM through FanFiction and I wouldn't be able to send it to you if you don't have an account (Sorry!).

Please tell me what you think! And thank you!!!

* * *

- A week and a half later…

Robin stood in front of the widescreen and cleared his throat while the Titans stared with curiosity at their leader. He was more disheveled than usual, something Raven found suspicious considering that he had told the team he'd been _resting_ for the past week and a half.

"I wanted to apologize for working you all too hard. It was my fault we were too exhausted to stop Slade."

"'Bout time he said sorry," Cyborg muttered but no one seemed to notice.

"But I want to make it up to you. It's Saturday night and I think we've earned a break." He studied them from behind his mask but no one dared to interrupt him- not with how he'd been acting lately. "The Lunar Carnival is in town and I have tickets."

Starfire's squeal was enough to rouse them out of their grumpy stupor.

"Dude, really?!"

"Awesome!"

"I wish to consume the sticks of colored non-cotton!"

Raven was the only member who did not seem thrilled at the prospect. "Lunar Carnival?" She seemed to be thinking something over in her mind. "If they're celebrating the moon, why have the carnival on a night without one?"

"Aww, don't be such a spoil-sport!" Cyborg flashed the empath a wide grin and slung his arm around her shoulder, "Let's just go and pig out on carnival food!"

"Thrilling."

"That reminds me! I want to ride the 'Thrillmachinatrono'doom!'" Beast Boy's eyes seemed to glitter at the very idea of a night free of duty. Robin almost felt bad for tricking them… Almost. But morale had been low following his month of intensive training. What was the harm in letting them think they were going to have fun? If anything, it would just make them fight harder when Slade showed up to ruin their night.

Or at least that's what Robin kept telling himself.

*

The Titans wandered through the carnival blissfully- all except for Robin, who seemed to have disappeared completely. Beast Boy had whined until someone (Starfire) agreed to ride the Thrillmachinatrono'doom- and then he promptly threw up his tofu-dog afterwards. Cyborg was pointing and laughing while Raven looked away in annoyance (though she was actually hiding a small smile) as Best Boy was busy leaning over the trash barrel.

"Perhaps mustard will help you?" Starfire offered him a small packet but Beast Boy shook his head wearily.

"No way, I-"

"_Titans,_" Robin's voice echoed through their communicators, "_I just scored tickets to the main attraction. Meet me at the expo tent in five minutes._"

*

"Oh, Raven!" Starfire grabbed the girls arm and dragged her into the gigantic circus tent. "Are you not excited to see the magic?!"

"Oh yes, because it's so rare that I get to see magic," Raven replied with her usual stoic voice but the sarcasm eluded the Tamaranian.

"Come on, Rae, lighten up!" Beast Boy gave her a nudge. "This is the best carnival ever! Tons of awesome rides, bad-for-you foods, and no animals being forced to perform! This place rocks!"

"I'm glad you like it," Robin smiled and brushed his hair out of his face. He looked at a nearby clock and his chest tightened. Ten minutes and counting. "Come on, I managed to get front row seats."

"Oh, joyous!"

"Man, this show is gonna' rock!" Cyborg put the changeling in a head lock and ruffled his hair.

They made their way to the front row and quickly took their seats. Robin kept constant watch over the stage and the audience. He knew Slade was there, somewhere… probably watching him.

There was a sudden flash of light and a cloud of purple smoke that erupted from the stage and spread quickly through the tent in a thin haze.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen! To this evening's act!" Another cloud of smoke burst from the center of the stage and a man dressed in deep purple bowed to the audience as they cheered. "My name, if you don't know, is Haze and I will be your entertainer."

Robin's eyes darted more heavily. Haze, as he already knew, was an alias for a man by the name of Jarrod Jupiter- he was also Slade's latest target. He had spent the entire night watching the man from afar, guarding him incase Slade tried to act before the show began.

"For my first act, I shall need a lovely assistant!" Raven slapped Beast Boy when he grabbed her arm to hold it in the air. This caught the man's attention and he wandered over to the group. "Perhaps this lovely lady would assist?"

He held out his hand to Raven and, with a glare at the changeling, she accepted it.

"Perfect, perfect!" The man's smile nearly became cruel, "I know for certain that tonight will be an exciting night! I first ask that you kindly seat yourself here." He pointed to an empty portion of the stage and very suddenly a tall stool appeared. The audience gasped and cheered as Raven took her seat with a scowl that she couldn't keep hidden. "Now, young lady, please close your eyes and relax. Yes, that's right. Good, take a deep breath and allow yourself to relax completely."

Robin watched the man with curiosity. Why did Slade plan to kidnap him? What use was he to the villain?

"Excellent, Raven." The man smiled and Raven's eyes shot open.

"How do you know my name?"

She didn't receive an answer, only a cruel smile as the stage suddenly erupted into bright flames.

The audience screamed and clapped and Raven brought her hand out to touch one of the flames. The light danced around her fingers but she felt nothing. There was no heat from the flames.

"It's an illusion," she whispered and Haze nodded back with a grin.

"Just wait, we'll give them a show like never before." He waved his hands at a flame and suddenly it began to take form, growing arms, dark eyes, and a long torso that tapered into nothing. The thing began to move, dancing in a circle around the girl.

Robin and the rest of the titans tensed. They had seen fire sprites before… But only once… when they fought Trigon.

Raven kept very still as two more sprites appeared and began to dance. Meanwhile, Haze turned to the audience and bowed as more cheering took place. He looked happy. And when Haze looked happy, it was not a good thing. The cheering was interrupted by a loud and a terrifying roar. Raven grasped the stool she sat upon and a look of pure terror swept over her features.

"Say hello to daddy," Haze chuckled darkly as the stage seemed to rip in two and a gigantic red hand clawed up.

"NO!" Raven screamed, closing her eyes and cramming her hands over her ears, "It's not real! Not real!"

Very suddenly, the audience began to scream. Haze assumed it was his show until a gust of cool, fresh air rushed by his cheeks. His dark eyes scanned the heights of the tent only to find long, large gaps in the thick canvas. The purple smoke was quickly escaping out into the night and with it went the illusion- but the excitement was far from over. The large metal supports creaked ominously and very soon after they began to snap.

"TITANS, GO!" Robin yelled as he himself jumped to the stage where a frightened Raven sat upon the stool, eyes and ears closed to the world as she desperately whispered her mantra.

He shook her once; hard enough to force her eyes open and show her that the illusion had disappeared. She nodded at the realization, though her eyes clouded with fear, and moved quickly to assist the other Titans in holding up the tent and evacuating civilians.

Robin turned to Haze and grabbed the man's arm, "Come with me, Jarrod."

"I don't think so," Slade landed on the wooden stage, creating a loud crack and nice little hole that he stepped away from before his legs sunk. "Mr. Jupiter will certainly be coming with me."

"I'm afraid that, under the circumstances, I prefer to be alone." He laughed and a large plume of smoke burst up from his feet. Robin had seen the trick enough times to know the man was gone.

He looked over toward his team and smiled when he saw they had everything under control; he then turned his head back just in time to see Slade's foot disappearing under the canvas of the tent. Robin chuckled and followed suit, the man was obviously going after Jupiter and there was _no way in hell_ Robin would let him win so easily.

He crawled out from under the tent and quickly looked up to find Slade climbing the thick fabric. Two could play at that game- and with his lighter body, Robin might be able to win this one. He scurried up the canvas and laughed as he passed the bulky man, reaching the top and coming face to face with Jarrod Jupiter.

"I'm trying to save you!" he insisted, grabbing the man's wrist and dragging him over the scaffolding that was still quite unsteady, despite the support from the Titan's below. When they ran to the other side, Slade was just breeching the top. Robin looked down and decided it was worth the risk. He jumped down, letting his body slide over the canvas while he continued to hold on to the man's wrist.

The landing was less than graceful, especially for Robin, but he quickly scrambled to his feet and continued dragging the man through the maze of people. The hero had never been so glad to have run into a group of running, panicking idiots. They provided the perfect getaway.

"This way!" Robin jerked the man behind a haunted house and used the back entrance. He closed the door and paused, not daring to breathe in the darkness. After what could have been a minute or an hour, he finally let out a long breath and let go of the wrist. "I'm sorry Mr. Jupiter. But that man is after you."

"I see," he was calm, calmer than a hunted man should be.

Robin's stomach tensed, "Can you tell me why he was after you?"

"Probably because of this…"

Robin blinked… Impossible…. _Impossible_.

"Hello, son." His father said and his mother flashed him a warm smile.

Robin looked around. It was daylight, outside… that wasn't right… wasn't he just?

"Don't be so sad, Richard." His mother smiled and held out her hand. "My little robin."

"M..mom… Dad…" Robin could feel his eyes stinging. It couldn't be a dream… it was too real. That was _his_ mother's smile, _his_ father's gaze. He stepped closer and flinched. Something was wrong. He could feel it… something was hurting… he wanted to ignore it, though. There were more important things to focus on.

"It's your fault, you know." His father's voice was suddenly very cold and Robin froze. "You could have stopped them. It's your fault we're dead."

His body began to shiver and the pain became worse. It was then he realized the tightness in his chest. He couldn't breathe.

"Haze…" he choked, "stop it."

The illusion ended when Robin felt a fast slice across his chest. He could feel his own warm blood leaking down the stinging gash and suddenly he was in darkness yet again.

"No hard feelings, boy." He said with a smugly before his footsteps pattered off into the darkness.

Robin coughed and made his way for the exit, one had grasping the bleeding cut on his chest while the other hand blindly felt the wall, searching for the door. The illusions had stopped, but the smoke was even thicker now than before. There was hardly any air left. Worse yet, in the confusion of it all, he'd lost his way around. He tried to hold his breath as he searched more frantically, but the door seemed to have disappeared completely. His body began to fail him. He dragged in ragged, painful breaths as he sank to his knees and his eyes lost focus.

*

Robin moaned gently when he felt something warm sliding over his cut. His eyes flickered open but he was still in total darkness.

"Lie still," Slade warned. In the brief moment he'd spoken, the warmth had left the wound. Robin understood.

"He poisoned me?"

A grunt was his only reply. The teen shifted uncomfortably, the aching in his body felt terrible but it was nothing compared to what was coming next. He let out a scream and twisted when he felt the hot tongue slide _into_ his cut. Slade grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down before straddling his legs to keep him from kicking.

"Lie still, boy," he hissed. "The more you move, the faster the poison spreads. Be grateful, I'm taking the time to clean it for you."

Robin made a muffled hiss through his teeth as Slade moved back over the wound, sucking lightly before spitting out the hero's blood. Robin tried to stay still. He didn't like it, though.

"I'm surprised you didn't go after him," Robin said as Slade took another mouthful of blood and spit it to the side.

"I did," Slade huffed. "He got away."

"Hmm. Too bad." Robin didn't try to hide his satisfaction at those words. "I bet you regret telling me who you were going after."

"Not particularly." Slade breathed after spitting. He leaned back down but paused before sucking the poisoned wound again. "Do you regret _your decision_ to get the information?"

Robin thought about it, "Not particularly."

Slade let out a small chuckle and Robin tried to ignore the warm breath as it rushed against his blood covered skin. He suddenly became very thankful they were surrounded in darkness because his cheeks had turned very red. And his face was not the only thing that was feeling heated. He held his breath as Slade kept sucking and licking, letting his tongue sooth over the cut but occasionally press harder for no other reason than to feel the smaller body flinch.

"Are you cleaning or just playing?" Robin asked, slightly annoyed at having to hold back his erection. He was even more annoyed that he was getting one in the first place. He was poisoned, wounded, trapped with a psychopath… those things should not be a turn on.

"Why do you ask?" Slade grinned, "Are you getting hard?"

"No…" Robin lied and grit his teeth as Slade moved his hand down to check. The teen glared through the darkness as he felt himself being fondled. He fought the urge to swear when his body responded to the touch. Robin waited for the villain to say something but the man remained unmercifully silent. "Shut up." he spat, knowing full well it that Slade was waiting for just such an outburst.

"I'm just enjoying the moment," Slade replied airily.

"Yeah, well, don't get too flattered. I'm a teenager. These things just happen."

"And you're sure I have nothing to do with it?" His hand rubbed gently and Robin's breath hitched in his throat. "And _still_ no cup? Honestly. I left mine for you."

"I didn't have time to check it for sabotage." Robin grunted but admitted to himself that, aside from the lack of time to check for tracking or listening devices, the cup was also a rather poor fit. After all, it was designed for _Slade's _body.

Slade hummed out a small laugh and Robin stiffened when he the larger body shifted down and the hand on his crotch was suddenly replaced with a warmer, wetter sensation.

"Tell me, Robin." Slade said after a few well-placed licks. "There was poison that spread through your body before _I saved you…_ How does it feel?"

The hero felt thumbs slide under his shirt and roll languidly over the distinct hip bones. He fought a shiver at the contact. Every touch and movement tingled, like sharp needles just playing over the surface.

"Does it hurt?" there was too much amusement in his voice for him to be concerned.

"A little," Robin replied.

"I see," Slade could feel a small wet bead of precum working its way through Robin's pants. He smirked and, though the answer was obvious, he asked, "But, do you like it?"

"I," Robin started but gasped as Slade pulled the tight green trousers down. "…. A little…" His eyes widened under the mask and he let out a small whimper as he felt a slow, wet heat rolling over the tip of his penis. He began to breathe a bit harder, ignoring the stinging from his chest as it rose and fell with his trembling panting.

He expected Slade to take everything into his mouth right away- it _did_ seem his style; however, with one last swirl of his tongue over the tip, he moved down. He let his hot breath brush down the underside of Robin's member before he reached the base and he slowly put his mouth over Robin's testicles, earning a twitch and a moan.

The hero clenched his hands into tight fists and held back his moan- until, that is, Slade nibbled very lightly on one of the sacs and all hell broke loose in the boy's self control. This was new, maybe a first. Robin never would have expected the man to be anything but ruthless in _all_ aspects of life. The fact that he was capable of _lightly_ touching (let alone biting) _anything_ completely took him off guard.

Slade knew the boy was dumbfounded but didn't seem to mind. A confused Robin was occasionally a compliant one. He smiled and let his tongue reach up and stroke the very base of Robin's length, wriggling at the small bend in the skin and smirking when the teen gasped.

The gasp melted into a whimper when the hero tried to spread his legs wider but was stopped by his green pants that still covered most of his legs. Slade chuckled and started to pull them off but stopped when Robin's communicator sounded.

"Hey Robin, everyone's safe and the tent is stabilized." The boy had never been so disappointed to hear good news. Cyborg's voice continued via the walkie-talkie still attached to Robin's belt. "How are things on your end?"

The hero grumbled when Slade pulled back with a chuckle. Robin could hear him adjusting his mask in the darkness, preparing to leave.

"Everything's fine…" Robin flipped open his communicator and blinked back at the harsh light.

"Did you get Slade?" Beast Boy peaked over the robot shoulder and smiled.

"N… no… he got away."

"Don't let it get you down; the guy is great at pulling creepy disappearing tricks." A small huff sounded off in the darkness around Robin.

"But the carnival is closing down early. Too much excitement for 'em." Cyborg smiled but he looked disappointed, the leader of the Titans could not help but feel a bit guilty.

"Okay, good job, team. I'll meet you by the T car soon." Robin closed the communicator but used the light from the external screen to look around.

"You didn't tell them I was planning to kidnap Haze?" Slade asked, sounding mildly interested. Robin directed his light to the tall man and raised an eyebrow.

"Seems like Haze did _more_ than get away," Robin smirked and made a gesture to the cracked faceplate of the orange and black mask. Only a small portion had managed to crumble away, revealing nothing that Robin hadn't already seen and committed to memory.

"How else could he escape but break my mask and use the smoke against me? It was a lucky shot, but it managed to damage the filter."

"I see…" the hero took a moment to adjust himself. He'd nearly forgotten that part of him was very naked. He began to pull up his pants but stopped and hesitated. He was still very hard.

Slade noticed the half-expectant glance from Robin before the light from the communicator turned itself off and they were left in darkness once again. He listened as Robin let out a sigh, giving a low chuckle in response.

"Were you expecting me to finish?" Slade asked, walking closer to the boy.

"Hardly." Robin scowled and pulled his pants up to their proper position. He didn't _expect_ it… but he'd rather _hoped_ for it. He tugged at a loose bit of fabric around his chest and realized that his shirt had been torn in two. "Do you have a personal grudge against my wardrobe?"

"I do happen to think you look better in black," Slade's voice could be heard towering above Robin, making the boy uneasy as he gathered what he could of his clothing and stood to his feet.

"And orange, I'm sure," Robin scowled.

"I'm not opposed to the idea," Slade drawled. "Is that an offer?"

"No."

"Pity."

"What about you?" Robin asked as he pressed a button on the communicator and it once again lit up but no call was put through. "Care to tell me what you plan on taking next?"

"I thought that much would be obvious," Slade moved forward with a predatory grin and Robin suddenly found himself pressed against the door that he was just about to open. Two strong hands flossed around his shoulders while a knee very skillfully lifted itself and rubbed between Robin's legs.

The hero moaned slightly and moved against the pressure, letting himself grind against the villain's knee. He didn't care if it was slutty, he was still hard and it felt good. His mouth opened slightly to breath but Slade spotted the vulnerability and crashed his lips against Robin's. The jagged bit of mask scrapped against the hero's chin and cheeks but he didn't care. Slade's tongue was hot, skillful, and his kiss carried the hint of blood.

"More," Robin whimpered when Slade pulled away.

"Later." Slade promised; though from him, a promise only managed to sound like a threat. He thrust something into the boy's hands before brushing the boy aside and walking out.

Robin's chuckled softly and looked at the simple piece of paper in his hands.

_"0300 35 25.546 -127 34.42"_

He laughed and tucked the paper into his belt, briefly wondering if Slade was trying to subtly keep him thinking as a form of training or if he was simply having fun teasing him. Either way, he knew what he would be doing at 3 A.M. on the roof of Jump's biggest bank.

* * *

AN: For those who are curious, the numbers above are time and directions. _0300_ is military time for 3AM and _25.546 -127 34.42_ are handy little directions that will actually put you in the ocean, so don't really go there. Next chapter includes a FULL LEMON

For those who care, Jarrod Jupiter is not an OC. He is one of the Titan's enemies but did not (to my knowledge) appear in the series. He was a mind reader and used a purple haze to create illusions. Said illusions often featured authoritative figures from an individual's past- oppressive father figures were the most common. If you want to know more, Google him.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

A.N. I didn't want to waste too much time with… _not_ sex. So, pretend I told you that Raven healed Robin's chest-wound.

* * *

Slade turned as Robin landed gracefully on his feet and tucked the grappling-gun into his belt.

"You're late," Slade said.

"Only because you were," Robin quickly retorted. "I was waiting on the other building."

"Monitoring for traps, lackeys, and security guards, I assume."

"Naturally," Robin smiled and folded his arms. He was already familiar with the Jump Bank's security detail. There were cameras on the roof but he had used a scrambler on them- Slade, however, had taken the time to hack the system and put video input in a loop.

"We really do think alike," Slade mused and Robin's eyes narrowed just a bit. "I suppose you would like to continue from where we left off?"

"I would," Robin felt his heart beat a bit faster. This was it…

Slade made an amused sound and walked closer, noting how the teen stiffened slightly. To anyone else, it would have been an invisible gesture but to the mercenary it meant a great deal. He smirked at the realization that, tough as he was, Robin was still intimidated.

Robin expected the man to bark out orders, but was surprised to find that he took it upon himself to prepare the hero by removing the belt and slowly pulling the green pants down as he sank to his knees. Robin nearly died of shock. _Slade_… _on his knees_…There was something very disturbing about that picture.

Slade quickly undid the faceplate to his mask and rotated it to rest on the top of his head, effectively blocking the hero's view. Robin made a little gasp when he felt Slade's tongue circling the tip of his penis. He was half-hard a moment before but suddenly every part of his body snapped to attention. He timidly pressed his hand against Slade's shoulder for support as the wet tongue languidly explored the underside of his cock.

He was beginning to hate his calculating mind. Right now, Slade was vulnerable… his mask was already mostly off… all it would take was a simple little tug… Robin's grip hardened over Slade's shoulder as his entire length sank into the warmth.

"Nn… god…" he mumbled and his hips thrust forward, perhaps unintentionally.

Slade chuckled and let his lips play up the sides before descending back down towards the base, quite pleased at the sounds no hero should be allowed to make. But there was a sudden pause then, in Robin's breathing, faint but clearly there to the assassin's trained ears. The grip on his shoulder tightened and then suddenly….

Robin's hand shot towards the mask, gripping the edge and wrenching it up. He managed to see a mass of strange white hair. It looked soft and full, not really the kind a hair an evil villain would have… And that's when a thick hand closed around Robin's wrist and a leg swiftly kicked him to the ground. It all happened so quickly- and by the time he was ready to react, Slade already had his mask back on his face.

A single dark eye leered down at him from behind the black and orange mask, Robin brought his hands defensively to block his face but Slade merely grabbed his collar and threw him towards the edge of the building. His hips crashed against the metal bar at the top and his torso tilted at a dangerous angle to the ground far below. The only thing that kept him from flipping over the side was his fast reflexes as he grabbed the guardrail and held on for dear life.

Slade was there just one tiny moment later, giving the body a hard shove that caused Robin to lose his grip and lurch dangerously forward. He thought he was going to fall then, but found that Slade had a strong grip over his cape- keeping him in a state of complete and utter dependence on the man not to fall.

Slade let out a sigh as Robin's steel-toed shoes clattered against the concrete, trying to gain a proper footing that simply could not be attained. "I suppose you planned this from the beginning."

Robin took a deep breath and forced himself to remain- or at least appear- unafraid.

"Not this part, obviously."

"Pity, though. I was going to take my time and make sure you could at least _enjoy_ it. But if you are allowed to lack the grace of patience, I suppose I am as well."

Robin felt a tightening in his chest as the sound of ripping fabric echoed shortly into the night. Robin had completely forgotten that his pants were still down around his thighs until Slade's gloved hand held him steady while he removed a knife from his belt and sliced the green trousers right down the middle

A small wave of panic rushed through him when he heard Slade rummaging and very soon he felt something wet and hard pressing dangerously close to his opening. He braced himself as best he could, trying to hold on to the railing though his arms would not reach; instead he tried gripping the building to keep himself from slipping any further.

In one fast motion, the thing was inside him. Robin let out a surprised sound, but that faded quite suddenly. That was it? That hardly hurt at all!

Slade let out a low hum, "I see you didn't wait for me. You must have been quite _aggressive_ with the toy I left you. Or… perhaps you bought your own?"

"Well, I can't count on you to please me, can I?" He replied snidely and felt Slade adjusting something behind his back again.

Very suddenly, there was a large mass between Robin's legs- a large mass that _didn't_ belong to him. He gasped quietly at the realization that Slade _wasn't_ inside him, currently he was _under_ him.

Slade pulled out the toy he'd used and tossed it aside while he moved his hips just enough to let Robin understand what was coming next. He gave a small thrust forward, his cock grinding up into Robin's balls and shaft.

The hero moaned slightly and cursed himself for it.

"So tell me, how _big_ was it?" Slade teased and slowly rubbed himself against Robin's hard length. The hero only scowled in response. "Not telling? That's fine; I'll just gauge it by the intensity of your _response_." He felt Robin tense as he pulled back and quickly and coated his length with lube. But, before moving closer, Slade reached around to fondle Robin's penis and quickly fasten a small gadget at the base. He didn't bother telling Robin that it was a cockring and Robin didn't bother asking. "I'm sure that, regardless of the size and shape of your toys, this will still hurt."

Robin let out a low cry of pain as the lubricated but very blunt tip began to coerce its way inside. His opening snapped around the head and the teen whimpered, trying to clench his muscles to stop the intrusion, but he quickly found that doing so only made the pain unbearable.

Slade pushed himself inside until his hips met with the firm backside and he let out a low, husky laugh. "How does it feel, Robin?" He heard a low growl as a response and clicked his tongue. "That won't do, boy. I asked you a question. How does it _feel_?" he thrust forward and Robin let out a strangled cry.

"Aahhn!" He hissed and his gloved fingers clawed against the cement, "It… unn! It's… _big_."

Slade chuckled at the sincerity in the boy's voice and rolled his hips lightly, "go on."

"Fuck… it… it hurts… It's too thick… take… take it out."

"If you like," Slade hummed and pulled out slowly. Robin sighed when he felt himself emptied once again, only now realizing that he was rock-hard. He didn't focus on this for long, though, as he heard the sound of liquid being pressed out from a container.

Slade coated his erection with lube once again and returned his attention to the teen.

"No…" Robin hissed as the blunt cock spread his muscles apart and pushed in deeper. "Nnn!…"

At this point, Slade decided he would rather hear Robin's voice begging for more, not less. He pulled back and angled his next thrust to slide against the boy's prostate. All at once, the whimper dripped together with the deep sound of a throaty moan and Robin bucked slightly.

The villain continued to move in this pattern for a short while, listening to the threaded breathing of the younger man as his body twitched and groaned with involuntary convulsions of pleasure. He slowly released his grip on Robin's cape and the hero made an alarmed gasp as the sudden reinforcement disappeared- and then reappeared in the form of two strong hands closing around his hips.

Robin took a deep breath and glanced at the massive drop below him. Former acrobat or not, the steep drop looked terrifying. That thought was quickly pushed away though, as Slade gripped his hips and started thrusting harder.

The pain was still there, very much so, but Robin felt himself getting hotter and wanting more. He was powerless, though. Completely at the mercy of Slade's body, every time the man pulled back, Robin felt like he would fall. Ironically, it was only when the uncomfortably large member was inside him, pressing him hard against the banister, that Robin felt safest.

"I think you're starting to like it. Or am I just misreading those moans?" Slade growled in a tone that can only be described as heavily erotic, making Robin blush. He hadn't realized he'd been moaning. "No comment, little bird?" The man smirked and pulled out far enough to let Robin slip just enough to earn a gasp from him. "That's better."

He pushed back in, making sure to hit the boy's prostate before he returned to his normal thrusting. Robin seemed to enjoy both things. Immensely. His back arched slightly and his hips swayed as much as they could to meet every hard motion made by his elder.

"S..Slade?" Robin managed and the villain made a grunt in response, "p-please.. unh!"

"No." Slade answered simply, knowing very well that Robin was asking for his now very stiff erection to be touched. "I'm not done yet."

Robin shut his eyes and grit his teeth. The feeling in his groin was beginning to become painful too. He wasn't sure if the ring- or whatever it was- had been was too small or if it simply always hurt to wear it. It certainly felt too tight.

Slade's movements were becoming faster and Robin endured the harder thrusts by opening his mouth for equally hard moans and panting. One of the thrusts seemed to have lost rhythm and all at once Robin felt hot ropes of cum spraying inside him. He groaned and clenched around the man, forgetting to pretend that he wasn't enjoying the thick sensation as Slade gave a few half-thrusts to empty himself inside the boy.

He grabbed the cape before pulling out and dragged the hero fully back onto the building. Robin heaved a small sigh and reached for his erection. Slade had other ideas. Robin gasped and growled as Slade grabbed his hands and chained his wrists to the railing- the very railing that he had been so desperate to grab hold of moments earlier. Life was full of little ironies.

The hero groaned and moved his hips in a vague attempt to rub his now very swollen, very painful erection. He found no relief and slammed his wrists against the cuffs in frustration.

"You look rather perturbed," Slade smiled as he cleaned his cum-drenched tip on Robin's cape. "Are you perhaps sorry that you tried to unmask me?"

"Only sorry that I you stopped me," Robin managed to hiss back. "Now either un-cuff me or suck me off so I can finally come."

"I don't think you quite realize the position that you're in," Slade spoke with the slightest hint of warning. "Right now your options include me leaving you here to be found by the security guard in..." he scanned the city for a large clock-tower, "approximately forty seven minutes- or you can wait until I'm ready to _fuck_ you again, in which case I _might_ decide to let you come."

"How generous," Robin snorted and shifted once again. He wasn't feeling terribly aroused but his dick begged to differ as it remained stiff and bloated.

"What is your choice?"

"Fuck me, obviously."

"I'm not sure I liked the sound of that tone. I think I would like to hear you beg."

Robin's face ignited into a bright red, "I'm not going to beg y-ooh! Mmnn.." Robin bit his lip as two of Slade's fingers traced the underside of red and irritated shaft. Slade pulled back with a triumphant grin. "That's cheating."

"I know," Slade smiled and pulled away. "Now beg me to fuck you or I _will_ leave."

Robin's eyes narrowed into thin slits but he took a deep breath and quickly mumbled, "Please fuck me, Slade."

"Louder."

Robin looked up and his face twisted into a spiteful expression. He only managed to make his voice pleading, "Please, Slade, fuck me. Hard." He added the last part for good measure and it seemed to earn enough points.

"Your pleading skills are desperately lacking," Slade grabbed Robin's ankles and quickly hoisted them above the boy's head to chain them next to his wrists. The hero growled at the very uncomfortable position and thanked his lucky stars that Slade hadn't destroyed his shirt this time, otherwise he was sure to have road-rash on his shoulder-blades.

Slade smiled at the sight of Robin in such an awkward and painful looking position. His smile widened when he noticed the thick pink-tinted cum that had leaked out of the firm little ass and was proceeding to drip down his spine. That would work well enough for lubrication, he smirked.

"I suggest you make yourself comfortable," Slade stated in his rather flat way as he stood and leaned over the teen.

The glare from the hero was not lost on the villain as he grabbed his steadily hardening length and positioned it. Robin growled as it slowly moved inside again, this angle was even worse than the last- twice as uncomfortable and at least ten times more humiliating.

Still, the angle of the thrusts, once they began, rubbed Robin in all the right places and made him groan lightly at the over-filled sensation.

Slade smirked as he watched the boy's expression fade from anger to a sour pout to pleasure and denial. He placed his large hands on either side of Robin's bound appendages and towered over the boy. At this angle, he was more or less thrusting _downwards_ into his tight body; but, judging by the little sounds Robin couldn't hold back, it was still hitting the right spots.

He alternated between a long, slow pace that would then break into a fast, hard snap without warning. Robin had little control or balance, but he managed to rock his hips against Slade as he pushed in and out with increasing speed.

"Unn.. fuck…" Robin whined as he glanced as his nearly purple erection. The veins on the sides were throbbing violently and he desperately wanted to be touched. Asking would get him nowhere, he knew that. There was only one way to get the release he craved… "Hah!... Mmm! God, yes! Hah… Ahh!"

Slade wasn't sure if it was an act or not- and, truth be told, Robin didn't either. They continued to grind against each other, enjoying the hard fucking for all it was worth.

"More, Slade! Fuck me! Yes!" Robin panted and he listened to the labored sound of breathing coming from the masked man.

Slade could run marathons without becoming out of breath, but fucking Robin's ass seemed to render him somewhat wanting in the oxygen department. It was rare that he wanted to remove his mask so badly.

Robin moaned and bit his lip. Slade was getting closer. He could tell from the very subtle change in thrusts. He moaned and bucked, letting his muscles clench around Slade's cock as he begged for his own release. Slade grunted and came inside Robin for the second time. The hero moaned and took it all, shaking slightly at the painfully thick and dripping member between his legs.

"I think that you've had enough," Slade purred and quickly undid the cockring. Robin screamed in gratification as a thick translucent liquid erupted from his penis and, because of the strange position, splashed onto his face.

Slade was busy cleaning himself off when he heard the tiny whimper from the hero.

"More… there's more… Please, Slade… it hurts…"

The villain gave a Cheshire grin and rubbed his hand against Robin's opening to collect the thick cum that had leaked out after him. He then wrapped his hand around Robin's shaft and pumped it mercilessly, causing the once shy hero to twitch and moan, begging to be fucked again. Three waves of hot white mess landed on Robin's face, forcing one eye closed as it dribbled over his cheek and leaked in thick lines all over his face.

The hero covered in blood sweat and two kinds of cum was enough to prepare Slade for round three, but unfortunately, they were running low on time. The villain quickly picked the locks (he never bothered to carry keys) and let Robin slump to the ground, giving him ample time to catch his breath while he prepared to leave.

"Don't forget, the guard will be here in less than ten minutes," he warned and Robin waved his had dismissively. Slade wandered to the side of the building and hopped on the edge of the railing. I'm sure you'll want to change into the spare clothing you left on the other roof."

Robin didn't have to try hard to hide his astonishment, Slade always knew more than he should, "Until next time, then?"

Slade turned his eye on the boy and it glittered much the way it did when he got in a clean kill, "Or course."

With that, the man disappeared. Robin allowed himself to lie in a daze until he heard the security guard making his usual rounds to the roof. He swore briefly and rushed to his utility belt, grabbing the grappling gun and firing it back over to the rooftop previously used for surveillance. Thankfully the adrenaline was enough to, at least temporarily, ignore the very obvious pain shooting through him.

One very embarrassing rope-swing later, Robin landed on the roof and shed his shirt and newly-created green leggings. They certainly could not be considered pants anymore, anyway.

He picked up the bag containing his spare clothing and noticed that it felt slightly heavier than it should… Curious, he peered inside it and snorted out a laugh. Slade had left him a gift.

* * *

AN: There you have it, around seven pages of good ol'-fashioned butt sex. I'm not going to tell you what the 'gift' is just yet. You can guess if you want and I'll tell you if you're right.

I hope you liked this chapter. I liked it. Want to know the best part? I'm just getting warmed up.

Now, Slade demands reviews!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own a good ol' pile of _nothing_.

Chapter 8

Hello everyone. I'll keep this short. A big warm hug to my reviewers! To those that got a fancy sneak-peek at this chapter, I've done a bit of redecorating with the beginning. Okay, I'm done, enjoy!

* * *

Robin leaned tilted his head back, letting the water cascade over his naked body as he counted in his mind. Three… Four.. Five… Five months… two weeks… four, five, six days. That was it. Five months, two weeks, six days since he had last seen Slade. _Bastard_.

He lifted his hips and pushed himself back down on the thick silicone shaft. He'd done a little shopping after their little… encounter… but nothing seemed to help. If anything, he was only teasing himself. He'd spent hours, probably days, maybe even _weeks_ fucking around with his stupid toys and he had little more than a series of pitiful orgasms to show for it. Nothing, it seemed, could even come close to feeling of Slade around and _inside_ his body. He'd run the batteries out of three vibrators, broken the seal on six of the suction-cup dildos, and nearly had to make a morbidly humiliating trip the hospital when a certain vacuum-toy got a little too friendly.

Robin was frustrated… among other things. He'd kill the man if he ever saw him again. After they'd fucked like rabbits, of course.

He growled and worked his hand furiously over his shaft. He was close. Very close. And it was feeling better than any of the previous sessions; this one might actually be _worth_ all the effort.

And then the shower water ran cold. Robin cursed loudly and grit his teeth as his hand slammed down over the knob to stop the frigid water. DAMN IT! He'd been so _close_! He stepped out of the shower and grumbled about the environment. The _team_ had decided a few weeks back to limit the amount of individual hot-water usage by installing timers on all faucets. It was a vague effort to be more ecologically friendly and, until that point, it had worked without any problems. Now, however, Robin was scheming to dismantle the damned little timers. Damn nature!

Robin combed through his hair and glared at the potted plant on his counter, "This is your fault, you know." He grumbled to it as he left the bathroom to dress himself. He knew he was acting silly, but he needed _some _sort of release! Maybe a little time in the gym would do him some good. He felt like punching things. Robin smirked as he reached into the bathroom, grabbed the little plant, and headed towards the Titan training room. Take that, nature!

*

"Anything yet?" Robin asked Cyborg as he walked into his laboratory, a dirt and sweat covered towel thrown carelessly over his shoulder.

The one human eye glanced up at the leader before quickly bending back down over a series of dismantled pieces. "Nothing new." He sighed and dropped the tweezers that he was using to pick through the metal, diamond, and silicone.

The thing on the table had, at one time, been a Slade bot. Although the team had seen no trace of _Slade_, there was a sudden abundance of _Slade-bots_ all over the city. They had captured many of them, interrogated them as best they could by removing and studying the memory chips. That was another dead end. The chips were relatively fresh, most all had only one mission objective when they had been caught. It was terribly puzzling, though, that the bots were not targeting their usual items of interest.

"What were the commands for this one?

"Private art gallery with only a few pieces. It doesn't make sense. Slade usually only steals expensive, highly specialized equipment, not antiques and art pieces."

"I know," Robin's nose wrinkled. "The targets are all really valuable collectibles; Slade has never been interested things like that. He usually wants things that are only valuable if you knew what to _do_ with them."

"Beats me, man." Cyborg stood and stretched, "But I'm sick of analyzing this crud. We're not going to find anything, so I'm gonna' get some shut-eye."

Robin nodded, "Alright. I'll be on patrol tonight." He brushed his fingers over the large metal 'S' that was laid among the rubble and frowned before making his way towards the garages where his R-cycle was waiting.

*

Robin growled and kicked at the gravel on the roof as he looked over the buildings. The city seemed so much smaller without Slade lurking around every dark corner. He'd even set a trap for the damned villain by arresting Jupiter. He was so sure that Slade would try to capture him again… but, he never showed. Damn that man, where was he?! It was as if he simply disappeared.

A very small part of Robin acknowledged the fact that he was feeling nervous. What if Slade was _dead_? He frowned and wondered for perhaps the millionth time whether he did something to chase the villain away. He nearly scoffed at the thought. He could have gotten rid of Slade ages ago if he only thought to fuck him! Then he scowled… That wasn't the reason, was it? It couldn't be… Robin was _not_ a lousy-lay. Hell, he'd been tied up for half the time- and the other part had him dangling over the side of a building. If anything it was _Slade's fault_ that he couldn't do anything but brace himself!

He heaved an angry sigh and began to turn away, stopping when he heard a commotion on a nearby rooftop. He turned and saw yet another Slade-bot hop down into a dark alley.

"Jewelry store," Robin mumbled. He knew his city so well that he was becoming bored with it. He made his way across the high rooftops and peered down at the robotic creature as it fumbled to disarm the security. He rolled his eyes and quickly pulled out his grappling gun, aiming it at a burnt-out light-post and firing. Just as he was about to jump down, another form darted into the alley.

Robin instinctively held his breath as the large man moved more quickly and quietly than a man of his size ought to be able to. _That_, without a doubt, was _Slade_ in the flesh. He held still and watched as something bright flashed in the alley, the light was followed by a crashing sound, then more lights, and again more crashes. Curious, Robin leaned forward and allowed himself to fall, swinging down to the ground with a graceful display as his feet collided with Slade's back, knocking the man forward a few good feet before he skidded to a halt and turned with a vicious look in his eye.

"Nice try, Slade," Robin growled and quickly withdrew his bo-staff. "But I'm not letting you get your greedy hands on the jewelry."

"Really, Robin." Slade tsked as he put away his sword, "What makes you think I have any interest in a few over-priced rocks?"

"You tell me."

"Charming argument." He pushed Robin to the side and the hero cursed under his breath as Slade kept his back to him and crouched down to the robot that he had sliced into bits. A surprise attack was one thing, but attacking when a man had his back turned was just cowardly- not to mention stupid when the opponent was Slade. The man reached into the robot and pulled out a small piece of the hardware. "But I'm not here to fetch whatever pitiful gems this store holds. All I'm interested in is _this_."

"Then you're not here to rob the place?"

"Would I waste my time on such a blue-collar crime?"

"No…" Robin admitted. "You wouldn't… But then why is _your_ robot here?"

"Precisely what I wanted to know. I've been out of the country for some time. Imagine my surprise when I return and half of my armory is missing."

"Someone stole them?" Robin let out a small chuckle but stopped when he remembered that a certain thief had once managed to steal a very valuable suit right from under his nose. It couldn't be… could it?

"They've been hacked, from what I can tell. I had to disarm all the rest to keep them from wandering off. Someone is trying very hard to piss me off. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"What?" the space between Robin's eyebrows wrinkled and he fought to keep an even tone. "No puzzles this time?"

A very small smile appeared under Slade's mask. He pushed the computer piece into his utility belt and spun to face the boy. "I'm a little busy tonight, Robin. Maybe another time."

"You're not going to find any information on that chip," the hero crossed his arms and stated matter-of-factly. "They've all been wiped clean except for one or two orders and the A.I. has been severely compromised. Whoever did it is better at eliminating data than they are creating it. Even Cy can't recover the information. You'd just be wasting your time."

"Really?" Slade took a step closer and, purely on instinct, Robin tensed. "Am I free to assume _you_ have something more entertaining in mind, then?"

The teen swallowed the lump that had appeared quite suddenly and tried to look nonchalant, "I can think of a few things, actually."

"You realize that it will be on _my_ terms. Everything short of your identity is fair game."

"That's pretty generous, coming from you. Is that why you didn't go after Jupiter? Not interested in finding out my identity anymore?"

"Clever boy, as always. I'm sure you figured out that Haze has the ability to see into a person's past. With his power I could find out nearly everything about you… but, I decided against it."

"And why is that?"

"Because dragging a mere human down to my level isn't as fun as fucking the city's favorite hero. It wouldn't be the same if it wasn't _you_ begging for it."

"Who's begging? I was offering. Take it or leave it." Robin shrugged and turned to hide his smile. He felt, for once, victorious against the man.

"You don't exactly drive a hard bargain," Slade chuckled, "But you certainly have my attention. I suppose tomorrow isn't good enough."

"One night offer."

"I accept. But I assume you don't want me to ravage you here in the open."

"And not on the roof of the bank, either. I'd rather like to avoid vertigo. What about the old headquarters?"

"I'm touched you would call it that, but no. I have a small studio to the east of here. We'll take your cycle."

Robin fought his blush and nodded in agreement. They walked in silence, giving the hero the chance to curse his hormones, damn his bad judgment, and thank his lucky stars that he finally found the bastard. It was probably the single most stupid thing he had ever done in his life thus far. Images of spiders and flies zipped through his brain, Slade could have easily planted a trap… He could be walking side by side with his very doom.

Robin shook his head lightly. No… no, if Slade wanted him dead, he wouldn't set an elaborate trap. He would simply find him and kill him- or at least he would _try_. That wasn't it… Surely then, he was after something else… But what? Well, only one way to find out…

By happy coincidence, his bike wasn't far away. Slade gripped the handle-bars and swung his leg over before motioning for Robin to sit behind him.

"You're kidding, right?" Robin snorted and folded his arms over his chest. "It's _my_ bike. Shouldn't I be the one to drive?"

Slade turned and gave the boy a haughty look behind the mask, "If you can't handle me riding your bike then you have no business asking me to ride your ass."

Robin quickly shut his mouth and climbed behind Slade.

*

Robin, of course, paid close attention to each and every little turn his bike made. Slade, as it turned out, was quite experienced with motorcycles. Only an expert could make such sharp turns without slipping across the gravel. The teen suspected that he was doing it, not for the thrill of the ride, but rather to make his hold on the villain's waist tighter to keep from slipping off. If that was the plan, it worked brilliantly. By the time they reached the tall building, Robin's knuckles were white.

"This is it," Slade said as he turned off the cycle and parked it on the street.

Robin removed his helmet and looked up at the tall dark building. It was one he'd passed by more than a thousand times during his life in Jump and never once had he suspected that Slade lived there. It surely wasn't the only residence the man had, but Robin felt a strong excitement in _knowing_ that he had narrowed down the endless list of hideouts- even if it was just by _one_.

"Don't get your hopes up," Slade smirked as he pulled out a key-card, "This is just a resting house. I don't keep anything incriminating here, so you might as well dash any hopes of search and seizure that you have brewing in that brain of yours."

Robin only shrugged and smiled._ Damn him._

One moderately annoying elevator ride later, Slade used his key and pushed aside the heavy door. Robin walked in and looked around. It was as the man had implied- a small but clean resting house. The décor was simple, if not a bit plain. The floor was bare concrete; smooth, dark, and cold. His eyes wandered almost immediately to the bed. It was a large dark canopy made with thick but attractively tapered wood. There were no drapes on the posts, making the bed seem rather ominous. And it looked sturdy, Robin thought, and then quickly blushed at the thoughts that followed.

"I suggest you start undressing," Slade spoke absently. His back was turned and he was leaning over a computer. "By the way, nice scrambler."

Not wanting to lose another uniform by having Slade help him undress, Robin did as he was told by removing his cape. "You can't blame me for taking precautions. The last thing I need is a tabloid photo of you and I chatting it up."

"Indeed. I was just about to erase the video from elevator. I'm glad to see there is no need."

"Were you?" Robin asked.

Slade chuckled in his usual cryptic tone, "You're not the only one with a reputation around in this city."

Robin gave a small smirk. He suspected the man didn't really care who he was seen with but didn't push his luck by saying so. His folded his shirt neatly and set it on his cape.

"Now," Slade had grabbed a piece of thick black fabric, "Perhaps we should come to a few agreements."

Robin was about to drop his utility belt but he quickly snapped it back on. Coming to an agreement with Slade was likely to involve violence. "I'm listening."

"First: identities will _remain_ private. If you try anything like you did on Jump Bank, I won't _just_ fuck you."

"Agreed," Robin said quickly between Slade's words.

"Second: seeing as it's _you_ who wants this, you will follow my orders."

"Up to a point."

Robin expected the man to growl at the interruption but he merely chuckled, "Agreed. But I have no intention of commanding anything that would compromise your morals."

"How thoughtful," the teen smirked, knowing that Slade had his own reasons for that. He probably got off on fucking a _hero,_ if Robin were just another henchman, well, that simply wouldn't do…

"Third: our lives outside of this agreement are to remain as they are. You will not ask questions or gather information and I will return the favor."

"Agreed." Robin stood and waited for Slade to continue on with a mile-long list of rules; however, the man was mercifully done.

"Good," His voice soothed. "Now put this on." He tossed a thick strip of black fabric, which the teen caught and stared at dumbly. "It's a blindfold." Slade clarified and nearly laughed at the relieved look on Robin's face. Obviously, the boy thought it was some sort of strange undergarment. "Be sure to tie it tightly."

Robin, for no other reason than his nagging hormones, obeyed.

"I suppose I should have warned you… That fabric _may or may not_ be sensitive to body heat. If removed from the skin too quickly, it _may or may not_ release a toxin that causes blindness. I, of course, would know how to remove it and will be happy to assist you before you leave—assuming it _is_ poisonous."

"You're lying," Robin stated flatly but his mind raced. "There is no such thing." To his knowledge, there _really_ was no such thing. His mind told him such a thing was impossible… but Slade was prone to doing impossible things every now and then… maybe it _was_ real.

"If you're willing to try it, be my guest." The man chuckled as his fingers undid his mask and he tossed it aside while his other hand smoothed back his unruly white hair. Robin scowled. "You can't blame me for taking precautions, little bird. Not after last time."

"I suppose I can't…" Robin stood very still, trying to listen to every sound. He could hear metal clicking against metal… that was probably Slade undoing his armor… the sound of the metal falling to the floor confirmed that.

Very suddenly, a gloved hand closed over Robin's arm and pulled him. He stumbled blindly at first but then found a rhythm to match Slade's long strides. Robin instinctively lifted his head when a light was turned on. He couldn't see anything from behind the dark fabric but he refused to stumble around like an idiot waving his arms to try and find his bearings.

He made a surprised sound when Slade's hand roughly caught his chin and forced his face upward to collide in a very domineering kiss. His mouth was already open when the kiss began, but the lips parted further as a hot tongue slowly pushed into his mouth. He tasted much the same as the first time they'd kissed, strangely metallic and hotter in temperature than Robin's mouth.

The hero moaned into the villain's kiss, letting the strong hands roam down his bare skin. His belt was removed and tossed across the floor and suddenly Robin felt his back pressed against the cold wall.

His arms looped around Slade's neck as he was lifted from the ground. The man was still fully clothed but his armor was gone, Robin could feel every hard line and muscle just under the fabric as his body grinded against the other.

"Mm… wait," Robin breathed, wrenching his hand between their bodies and sliding his hand in his pants. A moment later, he tossed his athletic cup aside with a smirk.

"Good boy." Slade mused before he crashed his lips back over the boy's mouth.

Robin kissed back, subtly trying to dominate the other. He simply wound his legs around the man, grinding against him as the large body pinned him against the wall. The teen growled as the tongue left his mouth and trailed down his jaw, finding a tendon and capturing it with his teeth. Robin cried out and bucked hard against the man, urging him to nibble the skin and causing the tendon to slip from his teeth.

"Yes…" Robin hissed, rubbing his hard length against the bulge of the larger man. "More."

Slade was merciful and did not destroy the boy's pants this time. He still managed to undress him in record time, though, and very soon the boy felt cool air brushing against his now fully nude body.

Robin waited as he heard Slade adjusting and a dark smile moved across his features when the man's body returned- sans clothing. He couldn't _see_ the body in front of him so he investigated with his hands, running his fingers up the defined muscles before letting his tongue follow suit.

He nearly screamed when jets of water began to cascade down their bodies.

"W_-What the hell_!?" He gasped, twisting his head around frantically. Slade only chuckled.

"We could both use a shower," Slade informed him and Robin blushed slightly. "Did I forget to mention that we were in the bathroom?"

"… Oh..." he finally managed a reply. He hadn't known that Slade had led him to another room, let alone placed him the shower. Robin wondered briefly what else the man could get away with without him knowing.

The man made a rapacious sound moved his slick hands down the slender body, working the soapy coating into a nice foam before the water washed it away. His rough fingers soothed over Robin's chest, gliding over the nipples before pinching down and twisting them lightly.

The younger eagerly moaned and wrapped his hands up and down the muscular back. He pulled the man closer, letting his left hand slide into the thick head of hair as he opened his mouth and gave a small wriggle of his tongue that was answered with a low growl and a hungry kiss. He lifted one of his legs and wrapped it around the thick trunk of the man, pivoting his hips and letting his cock grind against the man's larger erection.

Robin's fingers paused as they brushed against something that seemed embedded in the thick hair. He pressed against it and followed it around to the side of the man's head. It was a string of some sort… and it was tight against his skin… Was Slade still wearing a mask? The thought was quickly pushed away as Slade grabbed Robin's wrist and held it against the wall. Using his other hand, the man cupped one of Robin's buttocks and roughly hoisted him up, positioning him and roughly pushing himself against the boy's opening.

"Nn.. yes." Robin bit his lip and curved his back slightly, offering himself to villain and giving a little whine when he only felt two fingers slipping inside. "I don't need to be stretched." He added heatedly.

"Been busy without me?" Slade hummed and he used his body to hold the teen against the wall as he reached over to a shelf, pulling a plastic container of lube that was more than conveniently located and uncapping it with his teeth.

"You have no idea," Robin mumbled with a smirk.

He pressed his hands against Slade's shoulders to keep himself elevated as the man quickly coated his shaft in the gel and pressed in without warning.

"Ow! Fuck!" Robin hissed and his body flinched involuntarily.

"Don't complain, you asked for it." The boy made a sound of reluctant agreement but his fingers were clenching over the villain's shoulder quite roughly. Slade enjoyed the feeling of the blunt nails digging harder into his skin as he pushed himself fully inside the teen and Robin let out a low groan when their hips met.

"Oh, God…" Robin moaned and bucked his hips, "S…so deep…"

Slade let out a low growl and began thrusting, enjoying the heat that tightly wrapped around his cock. He smirked when Robin fastened his legs behind him, the heels digging hard into his back.

"Kiss me," Robin breathed and Slade's mouth collided brutally against his. It wasn't a loving kiss, but Robin hadn't meant it to be. He moaned and moved with each of the thrusts, dragging his fingers against the hot skin and grinding his cock into the man's stomach. Slade grabbed onto Robin's legs and pushed himself in deeper, making the boy scream out and grasp harder to keep from slipping.

The villain broke from the kiss and Robin gasped for air, all the while moving his body to meet the hard thrusts given to him. He was filled to the hilt and nearly drowning in the sensation. Toys were _nothing_ compared to the man. He could feel every little pulse twitch emanate from deep inside him. He wasn't torn as badly as the first time, thankfully. His body was learning to adjust to the huge pressure.

"Did you miss being _fucked_ by me?" Slade asked, emphasizing the word as if Robin needed a reminder of what _exactly_ they were doing. The teen nodded fervently and made a small helpless noise that made the man want to go faster. Which he did, of course; there was no reason to hold back now.

"Ahh! Yes!" Robin screamed between his fast and shallow breaths, "Haaa!" The teen hadn't noticed when the water had become so warm, but the steam was making it harder to breathe. Maybe Slade was doing it on purpose to hear him gasp between the load moans and screams. Robin wanted to chuckle if only his lungs would have allowed it.

"You're still fairly tight, so you can't have had too much fun."

"You're a… You're a fucking giant… you bastard… any- haa! Anything feels tight to you."

"I'll take that as a compliment," the man smirked and thrust in hard enough to keep Robin from slipping further down the slick wall.

The hands supporting his legs were holding on very tightly; there would probably be bruises in the morning, but Robin didn't care. After all, what fun was a night with the city's most notorious villain if you didn't come home with a little bodily harm?

"I… might come…" Robin grit his teeth and tried to grab on tighter to the man.

"Already?" Slade smirked, he enjoyed teasing Robin. He knew for a _fact_ that each of his thrusts was hitting the delicious bundle of tissue and that _no one_ would last long with that kind of attention.

Robin didn't answer, his entire focus was dedicated simply to holding on, grinding his hips into Slade, and, when it was convenient, breathing. Even though the man was in as deeply as the position would allow, he still angled each thrust to brush and push against his prostate, Robin didn't stand a chance.

"Ah… N….!" Robin bucked and Slade felt him becoming dangerously tight.

With a particularly evil smirk, the man reached down and looped his fingers around the base of the boy's penis squeezing just enough to stop the boy's orgasm.

"Damn you!" Robin cursed and dug his heels into Slade's back. "Let me come, you bastard!"

"Patience, Robin." Slade soothed and, as an added dramatic effect, he slowed his pace to a series of long, tortuous strokes.

"Easy for you to say," Robin growled and blurted out something that he hadn't intended to share. "I haven't been laid for almost half a year while you're out screwing anything and everything you please."

"What make you think I'm getting any more than you?" Slade smirked as he pulled out and very, very slowly began to push his way in again.

Robin grunted and kicked the man with one of his heels. He_ hated _the teasing almost as much as he _craved_ it. The only positive to the slow torture was that it gave him a chance to catch his breath. "Oh, please. A hole isn't that hard to find, mister. My end of the deal is easily replaced. Go faster damn it!" He huffed and Slade chuckled in reply. "Meanwhile I'm stuck trying to replace your better half between the sheets…. A goal that's damn near impossible."

"Give yourself some credit, Robin. You are far from replaceable."

The teen actually cracked a smile at that, "Prove it, then. _Fuck me_ like you _mean it_."

Slade took that as a challenge. And when it came to challenges, Slade never failed to exceed expectations.

He removed his fingers from around the base of Robin's length quickly. With a smirk, he pulled out completely and noted the angry little look on the hero's face before positioning himself and then forcing himself back inside.

Robin screamed and clawed at the man's back, his nails digging in harshly enough to break the skin and leave thick but very temporary red lines. Slade expected him to say 'stop' but Robin only hissed and bucked against the now long and hard thrusts. His back hit against the wall with each hard stroke of his hips; there would no doubt be lovely dark bruises on his pretty back and Slade looked forward to seeing them in the fresh morning light.

He pushed himself completely inside before wrapping his hand around the boy's dripping cock and sliding his fingers up and down the shaft in a furious pattern. He smirked when he felt Robin's body convulsing soon after, tightening roughly around his deeply entrenched member as the boy groaned and came.

The villain quickly whisked his fingers to collect the cum, licking a bit that slid down the back of his hand before he jammed two of the appendages into the boy's mouth and commanded, "Suck." Robin did as he was told, closing his lips around the fingers and tasting himself on top of the metal and gunpowder that had many times over been engrained into Slade's skin.

He ran his tongue between the fingers, licking at the strangely soft skin at the very base of the digits and moaning.

"Good boy," Slade smirked and grabbed Robin's forearms, pinning him firmly against the wall and starting to move in and out again. The teen growled slightly at the restraint, wanting to be closer to the large solid muscles so that he could lick and kiss and bite. He settled instead for wrapping his legs around the man and following his thrusts with enthusiasm. He arched his back into the sensation when Slade began to pivot his hips just right, sliding in and out with fast but powerful strokes. Robin groaned slightly. He was impressed at the fact that Slade could find the strength and coordination to both hold him against the wall and nearly fuck him into it. The villain was a man of many talents, it seemed.

"It's a shame you can't see it," Slade hummed and Robin nearly melted at the sound of his voice. "Seeing your legs twitch while I fuck you really is a fun way to spend my evening."

"Keep talking," Robin breathed, hoping to sneak in another orgasm before Slade had one for himself.

"And seeing my cock slide inside you... Watching you take it all in and beg for more…" He chuckled and Robin's legs tightened around him. "So tell me, boy… Do you want me to come inside you or _on_ you?"

"Inside," Robin panted. "As… as deep as you can." Suddenly, a realization passed into his brain, "Unless… you want to lick it off me…"

"I think that can be arranged," the man smirked and continued his long, fast thrusts and Robin was quite pleased with the arrangement, especially because he was getting hard again. He chewed his bottom lip and stifled the scream that he so desperately wanted to release. Slade noticed, of course, very few things could sneak by him. "That won't do, little bird. You're as good as caged, you might as well sing."

Robin untangled the knot that had formerly been his tongue and opened his mouth to speak. Unfortunately, his brain hadn't caught up with his body and he only managed to produce a hard moan followed by a string of nonsensical but rather entertaining words. "More… just… fuck… Oh, God! Deep!"

Slade only smiled and congratulated himself on literally fucking the boy silly.

Robin jolted slightly when he felt the man's penis swell up even larger. He moaned and bucked, knowing the man was close. "More! Ahh- Yes! Harder!" That was close enough to a proper sentence, Robin thought.

Even though he had requested it himself, Robin growled and tried to lock his legs around Slade's back when he began to pull out. The renewed feeling of emptiness bothered him and he bucked his hips in an angry display before he felt hot cum splashing over his groin area and running down his very hard length. He was gasping for air and shaking when Slade decided to let go of his arms. Robin nearly plummeted to the floor but a single firm hand pressed against his chest and held him to the wall.

"Raise your hands." Slade commanded and Robin obeyed, the tips of his fingers brushed against something slick and hard. He felt the villain's hands closing over his torso and lifting him higher, "Grab onto it."

There were no arguments. Robin did as he was told and grabbed onto what he found to be a metal pipe of some sort. His feet dangled just a few inches from the floor, and his erection became even more obvious when his fairly lithe body was stretched out.

"If you let go, I will stop." Slade warned before letting go of Robin's body and kneeling down to lick his own cum off the boy. Luckily the pipe Robin was holding didn't carry shower water; otherwise it would have been too hot to hold on to.

"Oh, God!" Robin grit his teeth when Slade's tongue ran down the length of his cock and then quickly took it all into his mouth. The man chuckled and Robin began to shake at the added sensation of vibration.

He thrust his hips forward but did not have much luck gaining momentum without a strong footing underneath. Maybe that's why Slade had made him hold on to it… to keep him from going too deep…but probably not, judging by the way the man nearly took the teen's balls in with his cock.

As an added effect, Slade snuck two fingers between the boy's legs and slid them inside the thoroughly fucked ass to massage his prostate. Robin didn't last two seconds after that. Slade pulled back in time to catch the last of the shot in his mouth before he quickly stood and pressed his slick tongue into Robin's panting mouth.

The teen returned the kiss with fervor, grinding his flaccid length against Slade's, once again, hard and enormous penis. The kiss ended with a gasp from Robin as Slade pulled away- the latter enjoying the view of Robin's open mouth and the thick white line that connected their tongues before it snapped in half and disappeared in the steam.

Robin let go of the bar and collapsed into the man's arms, struggling to breathe as properly as he should.

"So good," he murmured, and slowly moved his softness against the man's appendage.

"Good boy," Slade hummed as he soothed his hands down Robin's back, cupping his ass and letting his fingers slide in just slightly, "But we're far from done."

* * *

They're not done- but unfortunately, this chapter _is_. More to come, I'm sure. But it might be awhile. Subtle hints aren't my thing, so I'll just tell you to "Review, Damn it!!"

Also... no, wait, I'm done. ~Byeee


	9. Chapter 9

My first ever Christmas posting. Happy whatever thing you're celebrating.

Thanks to all that reviewed! There were quite a few anonymous ones this round- which is fine, I like getting those too. But you should know that repeat-reviewers sometimes get to read the chapters before I publish them and I can't really do that if I don't know who you are. Plus there might also be exclusive goodies in the future that will be available only to reviewers. Yes, that's blatant favoritism, what of it?

Also, to anonymous reviewer 'WTH?': When you say "HOLY CRAP I OUGHTA KILL YOU" do you mean to kill me out of hate or adoration? I respect either answer, naturally. I just like knowing whether to attack or hug the people running towards me ^-^

* * *

Robin protested lightly when Slade set him on top of a cool stone countertop and proceeded to dry him roughly with a towel. It was moments like this that he really wished for short hair again. His long hair was always a mess unless he took the time to brush it and he simply couldn't see Slade doing that for him- especially because it would mean taking off the blindfold.

Robin was fairly certain the toxin in the fabric was a lie; but at the same time, he was still very worried that it wasn't. Aside from annoying puzzles and clues, Slade usually had a very straight-forward way of doing things and the 'may or may not' be poisonous was really nagging Robin's brain. The man wasn't playing fair, damn it!

His train of thought crashed when Robin felt the towel moving between his legs, brushing against his soft length and making it a little less so. He reached blindly forward, bumping his fingers into Slade's abdomen and letting them slide down to feel the man's length. It was hard, of course. Robin took his time feeling it blindly, enjoying the shape and the heat as his fingers closed around the base and slid upwards, noting every vein all the way to the tip where Robin's thumb pushed at the slit.

"Like what you feel?" The man's voice was startling but Robin was glad he had spoken. If the young hero had drifted any further into la-la-land he ran the significant risk of drooling all over himself.

"If you have to ask, then you weren't paying attention," Robin smirked and pumped the man's length, delighting in the small twitch he felt. "I hope you meant it when you said that we weren't done."

"Of course, the night is young." Slade gave a smirk of his own and pulled the young man off his counter. Robin buckled slightly when his feet hit the floor but he managed not to fall. "Just follow me."

Robin heard the man's footsteps moving away from him and he frowned, "You don't expect me to stumble blindly, do you?"

"I do, actually. I know you'll figure it out, sooner or later." Slade's voice now sounded even further away and Robin swore under his breath at the man. The damn smirk was practically audible though he was blind to it.

Being used to darkness helped. Robin wasn't terribly graceful, as he found the wall much sooner than he expected, but once he had that, he was able to make his way out of the bathroom and back into the studio section. From there, it was even easier. Slade was rummaging around, moving what sounded like fabric and Robin decided that he must be near the bed.

"How do you want me?" Robin asked boldly when his knee brushed against the comforter of the bed.

"Naked and begging," came the man's response as he fastened the last of the straps to the canopy bar and turned back to his Robin.

"Good luck getting the last one," Robin scoffed; he knew he would regret those words eventually. He crawled onto the bed and waited for Slade to join him, tensing slightly when he felt the mattress sink on his left.

Being blindfolded was far more fun than he would have thought. It wasn't just that his other senses intensified as compensation, it was the added sense of mystery and danger. He did not trust Slade. He never would. But that seemed to make it all the more fun. Slade was a criminal, a psychopath, and probably the best fuck Robin would ever have; he hated to admit it, but he got off on fucking the city's favorite villain just as much as Slade got off on fucking the leader of the Teen Titans.

Robin gasped and grinned when he felt thick bands of fabric wrapping around his wrists and then hoisting him slightly in the air.

"More bondage?" he asked with the same grin as Slade moved to his knees. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you," Robin gave the fabric a quick pull to test it as his leg was lifted into the air along with his two arms. It was strong but quite flexible and Slade had given him enough slack to keep his circulation flowing. "I just thought you might have more tricks up your sleeve."

Slade admired his handiwork as Robin hung a full a foot above the bed, his arms were held up at the wrists but his legs were tied at the knees, giving him the ability to kick and twitch while he fucked him. His arms were held higher than the rest of him and it almost looked as though he were seated rather strangely on an invisible chair. Slade smirked at the hero's grin before moving off the bed and rummaging through a built in drawer. "Tell me, Robin, have you ever had a catheter inserted before?"

Robin wet his lips and the grin faltered slightly, "Yeah… when I had my appendix removed- but I was unconscious… why?"

Slade chose to save the answer for later, he only grinned as his fingers soothed up and down a short metal pin. It wasn't terribly thick but the tail of it was bulbed, the other side finished with Slade's insignia- a sharp 'S' that indicated the toy was custom made. The stainless-steel was polished nicely but it looked even better when Slade pressed it into Robin's mouth, letting him feel the small rod with his tongue. He pulled it back and, for good measure added lube to it and Robin's penis.

Robin jolted slightly when the metal thing was pulled from his mouth. It was smooth but very hard, tapered just at the tip. He wished he could see it to know just what he was in for. Robin jumped when he felt a dab of lube drip onto his tip. There wasn't much of it, not enough to coat the entire length anyway, making Robin a bit more nervous so he quickly repeated, "why?"

"This might feel similar," Slade hummed from behind him, pressing his chest against Robin's back as he rubbed the gel over the head, pressing it into the slit and working as much of the substance as he could into the hole. "Now would be a good time to relax."

Robin tensed completely when one of Slade's hands wrapped around his length and the other pressed the bulbed tail at the base of the mushroom head. He trailed it up slowly, collecting the bit of lube that had dripped down before reaching the hole. The teen held his breath as the smooth metal circled around the entrance in a hard tease, was Slade really going to-?

Robin threw his head back and gave a loud cry when the villain pushed his hard cock into him, thick and deep just as before. When he heard the man chuckle, the Titan growled and swung his leg to try and kick him. He couldn't reach, of course, the bindings saw to that, but then gave a relieved chuckle, "I thought you were really going to-"

"I am," Slade cut him off, "but since you won't _relax_ like I told you to, I'm going to make use of your _tension_. Now hold still."

Having not learned his lesson, Robin's muscles immediately constricted, giving Slade's cock a very pleasant tightness that he moved against in a few shallow thrusts.

"Relax," he soothed into the teen's ear.

Robin tried his best to do so; the fact that he nearly melted at the sound of Slade's husky voice while the hot breath tickled over his ear and neck helped. Still, his muscles became a bit more rigid when the hard metal pin pressed against his tip and then…

"Ahh!" Robin arched and Slade thrust himself upwards to keep the teen from moving off his erection, "No! It's… going.. Unn!"

"Shh," Slade soothed and Robin growled. He could feel the man grinning against his neck as the cockpin was pressed further inside. It couldn't have been more than three inches long, but that was enough to make Robin grit his teeth and buck at the pain.

The villain held his penis firmly, stroking it gently each time he pushed the pin deeper inside. Robin gave a short mewling noise with each movement, feeling himself soften a bit in response to the sensation of having the strange thing pushed inside him. It felt bigger than it was, he knew, but having something go _in there _when he was _hard_ was probably the strangest thing he'd ever experienced. Robin kept telling himself that he wasn't getting off on it. No, it couldn't be that, it felt too strange to be enjoyed. It was the fact that Slade was stroking him, combined with the slow and shallow thrusting of the villain's thick cock that was keeping Robin hard and wanting.

Still, he arched slightly each time the thing pressed deeper. His breathing was shaky and his lips were parted, silently inviting the villain in for a wet kiss that was, unfortunately, ignored for the time being.

Slade was patient, though, and only moved it further in when the teen relaxed enough for him to do so. Robin gasped and groaned until the thing was fully inside him. "I love it when you moan like that," Slade whispered with a guttural voice and let the rough stubble on his jaw scrape against his neck, sending electric waves through his body like a wildfire.

He held the 'S' at the head of the pin and slowly twirled it with two fingers, making Robin breath harder and clench his teeth, he wished he could see it. The villain grinned again and slowly began to pull the metal piece back, bringing a small wave of precum with it. Slade pulled until all but the bulbed end was out. He twirled it again and then smoothed more of the lube over the metal, using extra so that a good amount dripped down Robin's cock and over his balls.

"_This_," Slade said rather calmly as he began to slowly push the object back inside, "is called urethral play or _sounding_. It's quite a step up from bondage, don't you agree?" he very slowly moved the pin back and forth inside Robin's penis.

"It freaking burns."

"You'll learn to like it."

Robin smirked, "I kinda' do."

The 'S' was once again flush against the teen's entrance and Slade's fingers slowly slid down his length. Robin sighed and moved his hips lightly, hinting for the man to pick up the speed.

"This is a small one, naturally. We'll work up to larger ones over time." Slade chuckled at Robin's wrinkled nose and gave him a fast thrust to make it disappear.

"Mmn!" Robin's mouth opened for a full moan as his body bounced slightly with each thrust.

Slade had one hand working over his erection, pumping up and down the slick surface while occasionally twirling or moving the _sound_, as it was called, back and forth. Robin was becoming accustomed to the feeling and it didn't hurt any longer; quite the contrary, really, it was starting to tingle pleasantly as Slade stroked him. The other hand was wrapped around Robin's hips, pushing him down each time he thrust upwards, dragging his body downward to meet and grind his hard length inside the tight heat.

"God… yes…" Robin breathed as he turned his head to the side, giving Slade better access to his neck which the villain hungrily nibbled and licked, intent on making yet another mark on the teen's body- a small claim of dominance to leave over the young skin. It was a shallow gesture, and quite unnecessary as the Titan would remember the night with or without the bruises. Robin didn't seem to mind the marking, though. For him, it was a sign of aggression, a battle scar left by his opponent. He'd leave a few of his own before the night was over. He'd make sure of it.

"Want to come?" Slade asked and Robin mumbled a sloppy 'yes' before groaning loudly and pivoting his hips to ensure that Slade pushed inside at just the right angle. The man reached for the metal pin again and pressed it lightly with his finger. "Ready to beg for it?"

"No need," he breathed and smirked, "I noticed you have black covers. You want to see my cum all over it, don't you?"

"That's a pretty brave song," Slade grinned, "suppose I do."

"Then fuck me… deeper, harder… I want it all."

Robin arched as Slade honored the request and then some. His hand worked over the shaft, pumping furiously as Robin twitched and bucked. His thrusts became faster and harder also while his other hand moved down to play with the hero's balls, rolling them in his palms and feeling them contract.

"Oh, shi—I'm coming!" Robin grit his teeth and clumsily tried to grab the bindings while Slade leisurely closed the tips of two fingers around the metal 's' and pulled it out- after he enjoyed watching the teen's wet and slightly swollen lips part in an aggravated moan. Jets of hot cum shot out immediately after the sound was pulled from Robin's penis.

His hips twitched and he cried out loudly while Slade pounded harder and faster into the back of him, enjoying the sight of Robin's cum laying hot and wet against his bedspread. He'd rather like to see Robin lying on top of it, equally hot and cum-covered; but he decided to save that for later. In the morning, possibly, he was too close to orgasm to give the mattress a proper christening.

As if he could sense the man's release nearing, Robin spoke. "Inside me, this time," he made sure his voice was demanding, letting Slade know that he was in no way begging for it.

His hands abandoned Robin's weeping length and wrapped around his waist, digging into the muscle and hip bones while he thrust in more forcefully than before, not bothering to alternate between fast and slow. He was too far gone to waste his time on that.

"Yes!" Robin breathed as he felt his own flaccid cock bouncing against him with each of the man's thrusts.

Slade gave a few more powerful strokes before filling Robin as he gave a deep-throated groan. His hands released the tanned hips and Robin bobbled slightly with the fabric binding. As he pulled out, Slade took the time to enjoy watching his semen drip out from the hero's ass and onto the bedspread before reaching up and undoing the ties.

Robin fell to his knees first and gave a short sigh. All that time dangling from ropes nearly made him forget that there was actually a bed under him- quite a good bed, too. Or at least that's what he thought when he arms were released and he nearly collapsed onto his own cum. Slade pulled back the covers and ushered him into the bed; Robin protested at first, but after three fantastic orgasms, he really didn't have much energy to argue.

He was delighted and puzzled when Slade's body joined him. Robin was never one for cuddling, but that didn't stop him from rolling on top of Slade's body and delivering a full and very wet kiss.

The hero pulled back with a smile and said with a raspy bed-voice, "Thanks."

Slade was surprised at the gesture but he didn't show it. He only gave a small sound of acknowledgement and folded his hands behind his head. Robin rested his cheek against the man's chest and relaxed.

"You're going to have a rude awakening if you sleep there," Slade warned him, though he wasn't even sure if Robin was still awake. His suspicions were proven wrong when Robin cheekily replied:

"I look forward to it."

* * *

Before this story continues, I feel it's important to warn you that I've done something kind of bad…. I kinda' sorta' came up with a plot... I promise that I'll keep the storyline smutty. You probably won't even notice that there's actually a story going on. Or by the time you realize what's happening, it'll be too late. Mwa ha ha, etc.

BUT, I need a little guidance… How long should I keep Slade and Robin from seeing each other without masks? I plan to unmask both of them at roughly the same time, but I'm not sure how long I should drag it out before I do. I don't want to keep Robin blindfolded. Not all the time, anyway. That would be boring.

Anyway, Happy Holidays, cheers!


	10. Chapter 10

I LIVE! Sorry and thank you to all that waited for this chapter. I managed to get myself sick, but I didn't die and finally managed to finish this chapter.

I think everyone prefers that both identities remain secret for now, so I'll just have fun keeping them blindfolded and/or masked.

To anonymous reviewer ficfan: I don't really know that I will include Bruce in this one. The Titans will find out about it eventually… but it will be too late… XD! Ominous, yes? I'm planning for this story to be a fairly long one in terms of length. However, since most of the story is smut, the plot will make up a lesser portion. Pay attention though! Small things that seem unimportant might just be plot related!

Chapter 10

* * *

Robin was slightly disappointed when he awoke in a very normal fashion. He really had been looking forward to that rude awakening and the bed sheets simply didn't have the will nor the perversion to assault him. He let out a small sigh as he watched his hand sooth over the thick cotton, feeling the warmth that Slade had left…

Robin bolted upright when he realized he was no longer blindfolded. His hands moved to his eyes and he felt a small wave of relief when he felt his mask still sticking to his cheeks. He exhaled slowly and reached over to find the loose piece of fabric that had previously been wrapped around his eyes.

"Finally up, I see," Slade's voice startled Robin, who, for obvious reasons, assumed Slade had left. It seemed that the man had not only moved from under Robin, he had also had a shower, dressed in his full armor, and was now standing at the counter, preparing breakfast.

"I didn't realize you were a chef," Robin said coyly as he tossed the blindfold aside. "And I see the blindfold poison was a bluff, then."

"Stop digging for clues," Slade smiled behind his mask as he sliced a grapefruit in half and proceeded to squeeze it dry over a bowl. Robin could hardly hide his gawking stare as he watched the man toss the sad little half of fruit away and reach for the other. Everything always seemed different in the daylight. Slade, who always looked menacing in his armor, looked just as much so, but that was hardly noteworthy considering how his muscles were far more visible under the black Kevlar while he pressed the juice from the fruit with only his hands. "And of course it was a fake. You would be useless to me blind."

"You didn't seem to mind it last night," he grinned and stood to his feet before stalking over to the man, flaunting his naked and still dirty body. "Does this mean you don't intend to keep me blindfolded from now on?"

"No, I prefer to keep you in the dark."

"That's fine. I think it's best. And besides, I wouldn't see much if I did take it off. I know you're wearing a half-mask when we fuck. I felt the string in the shower."

Slade paused for only a fraction of a second before he chuckled and poured the bowl of fresh juice over a glass and washed off his hands. "Just a precaution," he mused.

Robin eyed the breakfast as Slade set it on the table. It was slightly meager, a hard-broiled egg, a piece of healthy looking bread that had yet to be toasted, a single-serving bowl of cottage cheese, and the glass of juice that Slade had just prepared. "And seeing as you're wearing a full mask now, I can only assume that's for me." He smirked.

"I don't really think you've earned it," Slade hummed slightly. "At least, not yet."

The smirk widened, "I see," Robin pressed himself against Slade's body, letting his chest push against the cold armor to make his nipples harden. "I suppose that's why you took a shower?"

"Common courtesy," Slade chuckled and pressed on Robin's shoulders to urge him downward. Robin allowed it and soon was on his knees before the man. His nimble fingers worked over Slade's pants and soon the villain's cock was freed. It was half hard at first, but a quick kiss and lick from the hero brought it up to speed. Robin gave a small smile. He felt significantly more prepared than the first time he had given head; having the toys to practice on helped. First, he pushed his tongue on the underside of the man's shaft, wiggling just under the head before moving his tongue all the way down to the man's balls. He nipped at them using only his lips and then he licked up the entire length of the erection, circling his tongue around the head before taking it in his mouth and sucking.

Slade wasn't too busy enjoying himself to take a good look at the deep bruises lying over Robin's back. He was right to think they would look pretty in the fresh light because they did; they were now a lovely deep indigo.

The corners of Robin's mouth twitched into a smile before he opened his mouth a bit wider and began to slide his lips down the thick length, letting the blunt tip press against the back of his mouth before he changed his angle and let the cock slide inside his throat. He had long before taught himself not to gag, but he wasn't quite prepared for the thickness- or the movement. Slade dug his fingers into Robin's already hopelessly tangled hair and began thrusting, despite the angry sound of protest. The teen glared and pushed Slade's hips back against the cupboards, _he_ wanted to be in charge now, not Slade.

Robin took a deep breath when he pulled away from the wet and throbbing member, licking around the tip again before descending upon it with a hard moan. Slade had obliged the '_request'_ from Robin's hands not to thrust forward but he kept his hands occupied enough in the long black hair as Robin's head quickly bobbed back and forth.

He gave one last guttural moan before moving back and looking up towards his masked enemy, "Are we going to actually fuck this morning or should I keep doing all the work?" he smirked and gave the thick member another playful lick.

"I hope this isn't a reflection of your work ethic," Slade chided in good humor as Robin stood to his feet and wrapped his hands behind the thick neck.

"I could keep going, if you want." he offered as he circled his finger over the thick metal chest plate, "I just thought you wanted to fuck me one last time before I had to go."

"It's still early. I doubt many criminals are up yet."

"I can think of two that are." Robin pressed a finger to the chest plate "You… and…" he then moved his hand down to Slade's erection, stroking it slowly.

"Good to know that my crotch counts as its own villain," Slade chuckled as he spun Robin around pushed him against the cupboards. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small container, which he opened and emptied onto his cock.

"Never hurts to be prepared," Robin smiled and soothed his hands over the hard length, collecting a bit of the lube and moving his hand over his own cock. "Shall we go back to the bed?"

"No," Slade moved his hands down Robin's waist and lifted him up just enough to set him on the countertop, "Here will do just fine."

The teen smiled and lifted his legs, parting them slightly before sliding his hands down his thighs and then spreading himself slowly with his fingers. Slade recognized a clear invitation when he saw it. He smirked under his mask and moved closer, taking his cock into his hand and pressing his other hand on Robin's thigh. Robin gave a loud and hard moan, tilting his head back as Slade slowly but fluidly entered. He fought to keep his legs spread, pressing his feet on the counter's edge as Slade began thrusting, using deliberately long strokes to tease the boy.

Slade couldn't help but smirk when he noticed Robin's half-lidded eyes watching the thick cock sliding in and out of him. The boy hummed gently and slowly lifted his hand to his own erection, stroking himself to match the slow thrusts.

Slade reached into his belt and pulled out another container, followed by something Robin instantly recognized, despite the fact he had never actually seen it. His chest tightened slightly as the sound was twirled between two of the man's fingers.

"You put it in," the villain smirked as he handed the small metal pin to Robin before opening the small container of lube and pouring it into Robin's hand.

The teen stared at it blankly for a moment before he dipped the bulbed tail into the gel and timidly moved it to hover over his penis. He hesitated and Slade gave him another slow thrust to keep him from procrastinating.

"Go slowly," he pressed his hand over Robin's hand and then moved to stroke the teen. "If you can get it in without help, I'll let you take a shower before you leave."

Robin glanced up at the man and frowned. He hadn't considered Slade withholding shower privileges… Damn, the man was evil. He took a deep breath and pressed the tip to his entrance, moving hesitantly until the bulb popped inside. Slade rewarded him with a few fast thrusts, nearly making the pin fall out as the teen jolted when his prostate was brushed against quite pleasantly.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" he mumbled and took a firmer hold on his cock.

"I never do," Slade chuckled back and hoisted Robin's legs further apart. To his credit, though, he did slow down enough to let Robin push the sound further inside.

He took a deep breath and stroked himself gently. The metal pin was halfway in and burning just slightly, Robin bit his lip and slowly pushed it all the way inside. He released his breath and Slade gave him a very well angled thrust as a reward.

"Good boy, Robin." His gloved hand closed over the teen's smaller hand and gave his member a few pumps while Slade's larger mass slid in and out of him. He grabbed the metal 'S' and spun it with his fingers, making Robin tighten around him.

"I don't have all day," the hero reminded him, "do you mind?"

The villain tilted his head just slightly. Robin couldn't tell whether he was frowning, smirking, smiling, or sneering. His voice was no indication either as he said, "of course," and began thrusting without reserve.

Robin nearly flinched at the sudden harshness of the man's movements but settled instead for a low moan and a pretty arch of his back. "That's more like it," he mused and steadied his legs against the counter, moving his hips as best he could without sliding off. It was then that he suddenly missed the blindfold. With it, Slade could take off his own mask, which freed his mouth for those strong, almost overpowering kisses. It was hardly fair to call them kisses, they were too forceful, too domineering, and there was little affection to be found in them. But lord, were they _fun_.

His train of thought was rather quickly diverted when Slade's finger pressed against the tip of his cock, wiggling the metal 'S' and pushing it more deeply inside. Robin bit back the whimper and grabbed Slade's hand, bringing the fingers to his mouth and quickly slicking them inside. He moaned and let Slade move the digits in and out in time with the hard thrusting below.

The man pulled his fingers back with an unseen smirk and wrapped his hand around Robin's penis stroking it with long, deliberate movements, making the teen gasp and tighten around him.

Trying to keep his hands busy, Robin leaned forward and kissed up the side of Slade's neck, pulling the tight black fabric away and licking at the warm skin underneath. Slade began moving faster and the younger man became a bit more daring, nibbling at the tanned skin. Spurred on by the feeling of his orgasm building, he bit harder, capturing a tendon under his teeth and playing with it until it roughly slipped back into place. Robin soothed his lip over the spot and gave it a gentle lick before sucking on it lightly. Just enough, he smirked, to leave a pretty bruise for later.

"Happy?" Slade whispered huskily as Robin pulled back with a triumphant grin.

Robin didn't wavier, of course Slade saw through his little tongue service. "Very," he answered, moving both hands down his thighs and spreading his legs further for the man.

Slade smirked back, Robin could see it from the slight upturn of his left eye. He then did something rather gracious: he reached down and pulled out the sound. Despite his best effort, Robin gasped and buckled at the feeling, making Slade chuckle darkly.

Trying to see the humor in it also, Robin smirked and asked "Happy?"

Slade, of course, replied with "Very," and began pumping the shaft to match his fast strokes. His hand slid down the length and cupped Robin's balls, rolling them in his palm before giving them a very careful tug.

Robin moaned and shifted slowly, trying to stay on top of the counter and keep his legs spread at the same time. He almost wished he was tied up again, at least then he could blame any clumsiness on the ropes. Frustrated, he simply decided to wrap his legs around the man. It was much easier then. Robin pressed his hands against the countertop, giving him enough leverage to lift his hips slightly and move against Slade's thrusts. He panted and moaned, meeting the man's movements until it became too much and he threw his head back and cried out the man's name.

Slade delighted in the tightening around him as Robin practically screamed his name and arched, tossing his head back as a jet of hot white sprayed from his tip and spattered on both their chests. Robin grunted and quickly reached for his length, squeezing hard over Slade's hand and pumping while the last of cum dripped out and his erection dwindled. He leaned back with a grateful sigh and tried to catch his breath.

Not being one to let an opportunity pass by him, Slade discreetly reached into his belt and pulled out another sound. The design was identical to the first pin, but thicker. He grinned behind his mask as he rolled the metal in the fresh cum and then took Robin's flaccid length in hand.

The teen assumed it was the first sound, back for another visit, but realized that it was different the moment Slade began to slide it inside.

"Ahh! What's-"Robin's toes curled and he wrapped his hand around his cock as if he could stop the intrusion. He moaned loudly while Slade pushed it until the metal 'S' was flat against his head and then weakly mumbled "How?"

"I admit, I had wanted to wait until gauging to the next size," Slade spoke offhandedly as if he were ordering off a menu, "but I think you're ready for it."

Robin drew in a hard gasp as Slade grabbed the head of the sound and twirled it quickly. He was starting to feel hard again but the sound made it painful, albeit slightly arousing, to continue. There wasn't much choice in that, though. Once Slade began moving again, long, hard strokes that were interrupted by slow and torturous intrusions, Robin found himself just as hard as before.

He took in harsh gasps of air, twitching slightly as Slade fucked him. He had been keeping his eyes on Slade, or rather, the one eye Robin could see, but his eyes began to wander down. He could hear Slade chuckle when he made a surprised sound as his eyes finally came to rest on his penis. It wasn't that he didn't expect it, but the sight of the metal 'S' resting on his penis was alarming to see. It reinforced the fact that he wasn't just fucking some random man- this was _Slade_. He was _fucking_ the _arch villain _of Jump city.

"Harder," he breathed, looking back up at the steely eye with lust and the slightest hint of fear. It was wrong. The pain and the aggression… he wasn't supposed to crave those things… Heroes weren't supposed to. "God, fuck me!" Robin cried out again as Slade pounded into him harder and faster with each stroke.

The man could feel his body tensing as Robin moved to meet his thrusts, grinding himself harder into the villain while he moaned and twitched. There was a heat building inside him, pooling down into his groin and becoming almost painful as he delivered a few last strokes and then came inside the hero with a rough groan. He leaned forward as he came, breathing heavily from behind his mask before pulling back and giving a haggard sigh.

Robin gave a small growl and tried to pull Slade back into place with his legs, but it was too late. The only solace for the teen was watching the man's cock, wet with lube and cum, slide out from his lithe body and plop against the thick leg. He felt oddly empty and incomplete without the villain's erection inside him. Not bothering to wet his fingers, Robin moved them down to his ass and quickly slid three of his fingers inside. He gave a frustrated little moan as the digits glided back and forth, smearing the cum inside and making it leak out faster.

"A little help?" Robin asked, annoyed that Slade was too busy cleaning himself to finish him off.

The man turned back to him and cocked his head, innocently stating, "I don't have all day."

The hero gave an indignant little grunt and pressed his fingers deeper, trying to reach that heavenly little spot that Slade always seemed to find with ease. Slade could piss off, he wasn't about to beg.

Surprisingly, this wasn't what the man seemed to have wanted anyhow. He walked back to Robin and shooed the boy's hand away before slicking up his fingers and then pushing them inside. That was… better, Robin admitted; nothing like being fucked, but still better than his own fingers.

Suddenly Slade's mask moved closer to Robin's face, making the teen shift uncomfortably as the grey eye leered down at him. "I'm going to suck you off," Slade warned darkly. "If you so much as _try_ to catch a peek under my mask, I'll enlighten you as to _why_ you should _never_ piss off the person who has your penis in their _mouth_."

Robin knew it was a legitimate threat but chuckled all the same when he nodded.

Slade bent down and unhinged his face-plate, swinging it up to keep his face covered should the hero decide to glance down at him.

Robin moaned and bucked when a hot mouth suddenly sunk down over his length, ravaging the sides and twirling the sound with his tongue. He fought the urge to move his hands over the man's back, knowing that it might be seen as a threat and the wonderful feeling would end- oh, and that Slade might kill him if he tried anything funny. Instead he reserved himself to moaning loudly and teasing his nipples, making them darken as he pinched them and moaned.

From down below, Slade was smirking and wondering if Robin would scream his name again when he came. He gave a small chuckle and the teen moaned louder in response to the vibration. It really was amazing how the stubborn boy allowed himself to ever be obedient at all. Slade smirked at that little thought while his teeth closed around the head of the pin and he slowly pulled it out. Robin hissed and fought to keep his hands from moving over the man, a feat easier said than done when the sound was spit to the side and then Slade slid his lips over the entire length of the boy's penis.

"Ahhn! Yes!" Robin couldn't keep himself from bucking at the feeling of his cock deep inside his throat- especially when the man gave a short growl in response to the movement and inadvertently sent hard vibrations through his member. The villain endured, however, and let the little hero thrust and grind until it became too much. Slade pushed his fingers hard against Robin's prostate while the young man arched and came into his mouth.

To his slight disappointment, Slade didn't hear his name among the unidentifiable slur of lusty groans. No matter. He reached up and pressed his free hand against Robin's eyes, both covering them and ensuring that they remained closed as he stood tall and pressed his lips against the hero's in a hot, dirty kiss.

Robin hummed and let the villain's cum-covered tongue fight against his own. Both were ruthless as the kiss became more aggressive. Slade pulled back when he felt himself getting hard again. Unfortunately, he really didn't have time for another round of fuck the birdy. He removed his fingers from Robin's ass and quickly snapped his face-plate back into place before moving his other hand away from Robin's eyes.

"The bathroom is fully stocked," Slade stated matter-of-factly, "I think you'll find everything you need." He gave a small smirk at Robin's half-lidded expression as the teen moved off the counter and towards the bathroom.

"Thanks," he said as he reached the door, turning to give the man a nice shot of his naked and soiled body, "I won't be long."

Robin closed the door and, after a short moment of contemplation, left it unlocked. He eyed the bathroom and smirked when he remembered how good it felt being pressed against the shower wall. He was sore as hell and gave a small jump at his reflection when he noticed his new bruises. No matter. His uniform would cover them… maybe not the hickey… he'd have to be careful about that one.

He chuckled to himself while he had a quick shower and worked the many tangles out of his hair. He gave a grateful sigh as he set aside the brush and wrapped a thick towel around his waist. He checked himself in the mirror one last time before moving back out into the main room.

"I hope tha-" Robin started to say but one look around the room told him that Slade was gone. He smirked and moved toward the table where his breakfast was waiting- along with a single sheet of neatly folded paper.

Curious and slightly apprehensive, he unfolded it.

It was a number puzzle. Robin laughed. Just below the rows of equations and then a slew of unidentifiable symbols was a short scribble that read: '_Until next time?'_

_

* * *

_

Thanks to all that have been reviewing! I hope you enjoyed your special treat! If you reviewed and did not receive anything, it's because of one or more of the following reasons:

- You're an anonymous reviewer and I am not able to contact you.

- Your profile indicates that you are underage.

- You only reviewed a few chapters, so I assumed you stopped reading.

- I suspect that you are a zombie and I don't want to be eaten.

Another fanart and a new Sladin one-shot are on the way. The censored art will be on available on Deviant, and the uncensored version will be available to those who know where to look ;). Oh, and the one-shot will be posted on Fanfiction, of course.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Sorry it's been so long, everyone. The spring semester has started and I am… how to say it? Bored to tears but obligated to work. Yes, that'll do. Thanks to those who waited. I'll do my best to write new chapters, but unfortunately, I can't promise steady releases.

*For those of you that saw the first Sladomasochism fan art, I have bad news: the chapter the drawing depicts has been pushed back. Why, you ask? It's simple. I've decided that there simply was not enough sex in this story and that another smutty chapter would look simply marvelous between this chapter and the one I did a fan art for. Sorry if I got any one's hopes up by saying it would be chapter 12. In time, I'm sure you'll forgive me ^,~

* * *

Robin looked over the note and wrinkled his nose. It was a number game with a long slew of complicated equations that, once finished, could be used as a key to identify the symbols and relate them into letters of the alphabet.

God… he knew Slade was sick, but _this_…

He plopped down in the chair and grabbed the hard-boiled egg, cracking the shell against the table absentmindedly while he studied the paper. Luckily, Alfred had been a strict tutor. Before he could even salt his egg, Robin had solved the first equation. 33. If his hunch was right, that would mean the strange symbol next to the equation was 'R'. He smiled when he glanced down at the symbols below. Leave it to Slade to organize the coded letter so formally, of course he began with the hero's own name. He laughed in spite of the equations, having already five letters for the price of one.

Robin glared when he noticed the pencil lying next to his breakfast plate. Slade really did know him too well. He shrugged that thought away and set to work on the puzzle. It took him much less time than he thought it would to finish, given the length of the puzzle and the complexity of some of the equations. Luckily, he didn't have to solve them all as he was able to fill in the blanks on many of the words. He had finished his breakfast and his hair was just beginning to dry when he finally decoded the full text.

_'Robin:_

_Assuming you haven't already torn my apartment upside down and found it, there is a communicator for you in the top drawer of the computer desk. It is a key for the building, so I suggest you take it with you if you want to meet again next Thursday morning around 2 A.M._

_-Slade'_

The teen chuckled when he glanced around the apartment. That was practically an invitation to snoop… It would be rude not to accept. He decided to dress first, should he need to make a quick exit if Slade came back unexpectedly.

He tried not to think about Slade as he pulled on his uniform; both because the 'morning after' guilt was beginning to trickle in and, well, it would make it damn hard to pull up his leggings. He walked back to the bathroom to hang up his towel, and decided to check the bathroom drawers first.

Robin gave a nervous smile and then a blush before closing the drawer he had just opened. Nothing incriminating there. Nope. Just lube. Lots and lots of lube. And a toothbrush. All neatly organized. Robin realized that it was probably a set up and glared as he looked for a hidden camera. Not that it would matter, his scrambler was still running.

The other drawers were much less embarrassing but no more incriminating. They were ordinary things, shaving cream, a meager first aid kit, lotion, floss, deodorant… no wonder he always smelled so damn good. Robin wasn't above lifting his shirt and borrowing a few swipes. It was probably a bad idea because later on he would probably get a whiff of the scent and have to excuse himself.

He left the bathroom and began searching the main studio, rifling through drawers and finding normal things like civilian clothing, financial reading material, and surprise, surprise, more lube. Robin shook his head and opened the very last drawer to search. His eyes widened and he breathed a quiet, "oh, my."

Robin had never seen such a collection of silicone, metal, and leather. The drawer was much deeper than it appeared to be from the outside and the hero was almost afraid to pull it out further. If he fell in, he would probably be lost for years before anyone found him. He closed the drawer and gave a heavy sigh. Where were the bombs? Where were the diabolical plans? Where were the freaking exploding playing cards and loaded dice? He felt gypped.

The teen ran his hand through his hair and decided to call it a morning. The other Titans were probably up and eating breakfast by now. Waffle day. Robin felt his mouth water and decided to make his trip back a fast one.

*

"Morning," he said as he entered everyone's favorite room and grabbed a plate. They were each about half way through their large stacks of waffles and they all gave a cheerful greeting through their mouthful of food.

"You were out all night, friend. Was there much trouble?" Starfire asked as she squeezed more mustard onto her plate.

"Nothing much. I fell asleep on a rooftop and only just woke up." He helped himself from the communal stack of waffles and looked for the syrup.

As if reading his mind, Raven sent it from across the room with an energy wave, "You're awfully chipper." She said in her usual monotone.

"Oh?" Robin decided that he'd rather not tone it down, he was happy. And there was plenty to be happy about: A nice day, waffles, friends, fuck enemies. What could be better? "I was just thinking about that time that Gizmo gave Beast Boy mechanical fleas."

Cyborg burst into laughter, "remember how the shampoo turned his fur purple?"

"It wasn't that funny," Beast Boy grumbled.

"Yes it was," Robin smirked as he began to sit on the couch, "you-OUCH!" Robin shot up from the seat and turned around to glare at the thing he had sat on. "Beast Boy… Remember what I told you about leaving your plastic dinosaurs around?"

"Ooh, you're in for it now, BB…" Cyborg breathed, it was more of a warning than a tease. Robin had been on edge and, frankly, a pain to be around. It didn't seem like that at the moment, but the mechanical man was positive that cranky Robin would come roaring back at the first sign of anything displeasing.

"No big deal," he tossed the figure aside and snuggled down on the sofa. "Just try to keep me from sitting on them, I guess." He laughed and the changeling's ears perked.

Was cranky-Robin finally gone? He decided to test it with a joke.

"Sure thing… I guess it would be hard to fight crime with a mega-saur-ass." He grinned and then chuckled, slapping Robin's back as the hero began to choke on his waffle. "Come on, dude… It wasn't _that_ funny."

*

Later that night, Robin was alone in his work room, toying with a bird-a-rang and thinking about Slade's apartment. How long had Slade owned it? How often did he stay there? How many did he have all over the city? All over the world?

They had agreed that anything that happened during their little adventures was off limits. That meant any information he happened upon was useless… or at least it was supposed to be. That wasn't really enough to stop Robin from doing a little internet-reconnaissance.

It started innocently enough. Robin was just trying to find copies of the electronic billing statement, making sure Slade actually paid for the space he lived in- or at least that's what he pretended while he was looking. He gave a short growl when he found the document. Apparently, _Justin Case_ had been renting the studio apartment for years. That was a pun as bad as Beast Boy's jokes. Slade must use that name _just in case_ anyone did some snooping. Robin actually felt disappointed that the man didn't use a better name to throw him off guard and send him on a wild goose-chase. At least that would keep him busy.

Well, at least he could still check the surveillance cameras. He typed away at the keyboard and easily accessed the video files. Too easily. Robin didn't have to watch to realize that Slade would erase any videos of himself- but of course he did anyway. He was curious. Hours later he was just as clueless and easily twice as frustrated.

He stood and stretched. Hopefully some idiot would try to rob something soon. He wanted to blow off some steam.

Right on cue, the alarm blared and a red light flashed.

"It's Mumbo." He heard Cyborg yell from down the hall.

Robin smirked as he exited his workroom, "Titans- Go!"

*

Robin had waited for the week and a half to pass with the patience of saint- a very, very bad saint. He'd done a bit more research, first off. He wasn't quite done breaking the rules and trying to find out who Slade was. Slade would do the same… maybe. Actually, the man actually seemed quite pleased with the arrangement. Robin was too. But that wouldn't stop him from doing his job. Hero work came first. Always did and always would. Sure, he was having fun now, but he had a duty to stop the man from harming anyone. He'd take him down the first chance he got. No questions asked.

He'd also done a bit of research on another topic: sounding. He'd ogled a few pictures and read up on safety precautions, finding nothing terribly surprising. Slade, as always, knew everything he needed to know and acted accordingly. No wonder the man always looked so smug.

The teen pulled into a parking spot and removed his helmet as he looked up at the tall building. It was Thursday night, about a quarter to 2 A.M. He spotted the windows that belonged to Slade's studio and gave a small grin at the fact that they were lighted, meaning Slade was already there. It was too far up to make out the finer details, but he could almost swear that he saw the man standing at the window. He schooled his face into a more neutral expression and made his way towards the same elevator he had used before.

The doors opened for him just as he was pulling out his communicator and Robin decided that it was probably an automatic remote access. He was about to slide the device back into his belt when he screen lit up and Slade's voice could be heard.

"Good morning," he said and Robin felt his pants becoming too tight as he looked into the communicator.

"It is," the teen agreed. "I'm on my way up."

"Before that, I have a question for you." Slade purred and Robin raised his brow to the man on the small glowing screen. Somehow, he had a bad feeling… it was probably the fact that he had been lured into a tiny enclosed space by a ruthless and terribly evil man. Said man tilted his head to the side and then began his question. "If it were possible to dig a hole through the center of the earth to reach China, which of these countries would start at: Cuba, Australia, Sweden, or Chile?

"Multiple choice?" Robin smirked. "How generous. And the answer is Chile."

Slade gave a soft chuckle, "excellent. I suppose that was a bit too easy. I'll have to up the ante next time."

"So you plan on making a habit of this?" Robin rolled his eyes as the elevator began to move upwards.

"I like to think it keeps you on your toes."

"I'd prefer if you kept me on my back," Robin countered and then the doors to the elevator opened. He pushed the communicator back into his utility belt and walked into the apartment, immediately eyeing the man as he stood by the window, looking out over the city.

"I'll keep that in mind," the voice from the communicator said as Robin made his way over the window. The teen paused when he realized something. Slade was standing by the window, arms folded behind his back, looking relaxed… Yet Robin had just been talking to Slade through the communicator; he'd seen the man's mask on the screen… But there he was, arms crossed behind his back… Had it been a recording? It couldn't be… Unless… maybe Slade _did_ know him too well… If anything it was probably a computer program… Artificial Intelligence was right up a mastermind's alley, after all.

"Something wrong?" Slade asked innocently, his tall form turned slightly and caught Robin giving him a strange look.

"No." Robin bluffed. "I'm just curious as to why you didn't tell me that my communicator only connected me to a program."

"Program?" the man asked, tilting his head to the side and placing his finger to his chin.

"It's no use bluffing. He's such a clever little bird." Robin jumped at the sound of Slade's voice as the masked man entered the studio from the bathroom and walked over to his body double.

"_Two_ of you?!" the teen choked out but then quickly regained his composure. Slade had used robots against him before. He'd spent hours chasing and fighting 'Slade' only to find out the man was merely a robotic double. This was nothing new… well, except for the fact that they weren't so much _fighting_ this time…

"There is a program that simulates my will and intelligence…" One Slade said as the two stood side by side. It would have been impossible to tell which one was talking were it not for the small gestures. "But I can tell you this, no matter how sophisticated the programming…"

"Only _one_ of us is the _real_ Slade."

Robin gave a short breath out his nose and sauntered over to the two men. "I have a fairly good idea of how I can find out," The teen stated boldly. "I'm guessing that one of you lacks a very important piece of equipment." Both hands had come to rest on the identical men's crotches and, although neither was wearing the usual cup, they felt the same through the thick material. Robin only chuckled and slowly began to undo the men's pants, reaching inside for a better feel.

The indistinguishable men complied, both giving a short chuckle at Robin's expense when the teen realized that the task before him was a bit more difficult than he realized.

Robin's brows furrowed slightly as his hands closed around the identical shafts. Both members gave a short stirring and began to firm in his grasp. How was that possible? They both felt the _same_. The thickness, the heat, even the veins on the man's cock reacted in the exact same way.

"Oh, god… this isn't a puzzle game, is it?" Robin groaned and both of the Slade's laughed.

"Hardly, Robin. Just a game for fun. No strings attached."

"Except for the wires. But I've made sure they are properly hidden." The other added, sounding smug.

"Why bother?" Robin asked, looking a bit perplexed.

"Because it makes me happy to think that I can keep you on your toes _and_ on your back."

"You're a sick man," the hero tsked, removing his hands from both figure's pants and taking off his gloves to get a better feel.

"Oh, but Robin… Doesn't it sound nice?" The silent Slade moved behind him while the one that was talking closed his hands over the boy's hips, "You, on your hands and knees… sucking me off…"

A pair of thick arms wrapped around him and teased his nipples "While I fuck you hard and fast, making you take _everything_ until it becomes too much… Don't you _want_ that?"

"I'm warming up to the idea, "Robin admitted, letting his clothing peel away from his body as Both Slades undressed him and guided him to the bed. Robin went along placidly, but his mind was racing. _Which one was the real Slade?_

His eyes darted back and forth between the bulky figures as he crawled onto the bed. They moved the same, breathed the same, hell, they even_ smelled _the same. They were identical in every way… but one was fake. Robin felt himself tense, maybe they were _both_ fakes and Slade was nowhere near the building. Maybe it was a distraction while the _real_ Slade was off stealing, killing, or pursuing his general plans for world domination…

"How do I know that either of you are real?" he asked as both men reached for their belts.

"You don't, I suppose." One answered.

"That's what makes this so fun." The other added as they both pulled out the twin members and soothed them over with a thick lubricant.

Robin watched intently, seeing both lengths darken slightly and firm up in the grasp as they were stroked lightly. He smirked when he saw the first bit of precum leaking out of a tip. _That_ was probably the real one- then he looked over and noticed the large pearly drip hanging from the other cock. Damn.

The men gave a soft, identical chuckle and began to move, one sliding behind Robin on the bed while the other merely walked to the edge of it and commanded:

"Hands and knees, boy."

A bit disappointed that he could no longer study both men at the same time, Robin complied.

"You look so nervous," the one in front of him chuckled and ran his hands through the teen's long hair, admiring the dark sheen as the stands slid between his fingers and fluttered back into place.

"I'll have no complaints, then. You tighten up so nicely when you're frustrated."

Robin wrinkled his nose at the sound of the two men's dark chuckles.

"No pouting, boy," the Slade in front of him lifted his chin and Robin looked up into the steely eye. "You should enjoy yourself."

"I know_ I_ will," the other added, propping Robin up on his knees and sliding his hands between the teen's legs, giving the balls a gentle squeeze while rubbing the perineum with his thumb.

Robin smirked as he felt himself hardening. Fake or not… he was in for one hell of a good time. He took the initiative to lean forward, lifting his ass a bit more while his mouth moved closer to the other Slade's erection.

"Good boy," they both purred as Robin licked up the warm shaft and slowly began to suck on the head. Meanwhile, the Slade behind him buried two fingers inside his tight ass and began to move them back and forth.

Robin moaned at the intrusion, pushing his body back against the gloved hands in a not-so-subtle way of telling the man- or machine, whichever, to get on with it. He then turned his attention back to the thick cock in front of him, giving it a curious look as he slid his tongue back and forth against the slit, trying to taste the precum under the flavored lube. That had been intentional, of course; the taste of the lube was too strong to pick up on any other flavor, making it impossible to tell if something was amiss.

"Deep throat it," Slade suggested- well, not so much suggested as commanded, but Robin let that one slide. He balanced on one hand while he lifted the other to stroke Slade's cock and then guide the length into his mouth, adjusting with a small grunt as the tip pushed into his throat.

Robin let out a low hum but stopped when he felt fingers slithering into his hair and pushing him deeper over the erection. He gave a short growl and a heated glare; _he_ was in charge when he serviced Slade in this way. That was really the only reason he even bothered to give head at all, it was really the only time his brain worked well enough be in command. He thought it a terrible shame to waste an opportunity. However, any and all thoughts of taking control melted away when the fingers left his backside and Robin felt a hot cock sliding between his cheeks.

He reared up slightly, arching his back in a hard angle as the thickness spread him wider. He hadn't taken much time with his toys, knowing that a visit from Slade was just around the corner, so the man or machine, whichever one it was, felt even larger than usual.

Robin's hand shot back down to the bedspread; suddenly, he needed the extra balance because the Slade behind him gave a fast thrust when he was only half-way in. The hero moaned loudly and closed his eyes at the feeling. Surely _that one_ was the real Slade.

"Like it?" a voice asked him, but he wasn't sure which one it was- and besides that, he couldn't really answer because the Slade in front of him thrust forward, burying his entire length in the boy's throat while his fingers curled into the black hair and pushed Robin closer.

The hero, though not terribly comfortable, allowed the aggressive intrusion- both of them. It really wasn't so bad once he realized when and how to breathe between the deep thrusting. He was even enjoying himself, who knew being so thoroughly fucked could be so fun? Sure, he had little to no control and this throat would be incredibly sore the next day, but god, that man could do things to him that Robin never dreamed of.

The Slade behind him gave a short laugh as his hand slid from the pale hips to the boy's groin, teasing the hard length and then stroking it with long, deliberate touches.

"Good boy," one said, probably the one from behind. "Do you like this? Being filled by me from both ends?

"Does is ache in all the right places?"

"And let's not forget the thrill of not _knowing_…"

"Doesn't it make you hard? Wondering who or what it is that is giving you pleasure?"

"I wonder which one of you will bring you over the edge.." the hand on his penis tightened slightly and began to pick up speed while the hand in his hair grasped harder and continued to force his mouth back and forth over the hard member in front of him.

Robin gave a very short laugh. If he didn't know better, he'd swear that the two Slades were _competing_ against one another.

"Of course… you'll come from feeling alone… A feeling that only I can give you."

"Even if the _I_ is only a program."

"Regardless of who makes you come, it will still be _my_ name that you scream in your mind."

"Isn't that right? _Robin?_"

The teen gave a sharp whimper and arched his back, feeling the hand on his penis stroke harder until his length became flaccid. Luckily, with a mouth full of enormous cock, it was hard to tell he was mortified.

He hadn't actually _come_… he simply… well… _lost it_.

"That didn't last too long," The Slade behind him chuckled and lifted his hand back to Robin's hip. Meanwhile, the Slade that he was sucking off paused. Robin glanced up and caught the man staring behind him; specifically, he was staring at the other Slade's hand.

The hero felt a strange twinge of fear and embarrassment as the hard length slipped out of his mouth and the masked form twisted his body to look under the teen.

"You didn't _come_?" he asked, sounding a bit incredulous.

"It'll come back," Robin flustered, his cheeks turning red as the Slade behind him slowed pace. "Keep going, it will come back." The man behind the boy gave a short shrug and began thrusting harder and faster, making sure to angle his movements so that they would hit the hero's prostate, making his softened length twitch a bit and begin to harden.

"I suppose I'll just have to show you how it's done," the other Slade moved back into position and Robin suddenly felt a hard length pressing against his lips. Wanting to move on from his embarrassment as quickly as possible, he opened his mouth and greedily began to suck, pushing down and pulling back with fervor as Slade's member slid in and out of his throat. Robin, now a little too embarrassed to appreciate the pleasure being given to him, focused instead on making Slade come.

He bobbed his head back and forth, letting the erection slip deep into his throat but occasionally he pulled back and let his tongue twirl around the head. Meanwhile, he did his best to clench and relax at the right times, trying to milk the dick inside him as it moved in and out at a fast and hard tempo.

"Watch.. carefully.. boy." The man said as he once again grabbed onto the dark hair and thrust forward, slamming his erection into the abused throat a few times before pulling out completely and releasing his orgasm with a hard groan. Robin opened his mouth, letting his tongue stick out just slightly as he caught the hot stream with a small smirk.

He came. That undoubtedly was the real Slade.

Robin heard a similar groan from behind him as the gloved hands clamped down over his pale hips and the other Slade pushed in hard before releasing a slick and hot mess from inside the hero.

"You're kidding…" Robin hissed as he looked behind him to see the man pulling out, a wave of white cum dripping off his softened length. "_Both_ of you came? _How?_"

"Don't look so shocked, little bird. I wouldn't create a program unless I intended it to fulfill _all_ desired purposes."

"Now, let us return the favor…"

The teen allowed himself to be rolled over to his back. He cast both Slades a weary look as they moved closer, each sliding a leg between his, spreading his legs apart while their hands roamed over his body.

He was rock hard again, and the hands felt wonderful as they slid over his skin. They pinched and teased his nipples while others raked up his thighs, finally reaching his erection and stroking it lightly.

"That's a good boy," One of them said as the hand slid over his length. Soon he felt fingers push inside him, digging deeper to reach his prostate.

"I'll make sure you come."

"Yes," the other agreed and both pairs of hands began to assault him more furiously. Robin groaned and bucked at the feeling, his hands clenching at the sheets beneath him as he felt himself getting closer. "Come for me."

Robin went rigid as he felt his erection dwindle to nothing. Oh, dear god... How utterly and completely mortifying…

Both of the Slades pulled back and looked curious, as if they were studying the situation and analyzing possible explanations in their mind.

"Does this happen often?" one asked him.

"No," Robin growled. "At least, not recently."

"When did it happen last?"

Robin slapped his hand over his face and groaned. This was _not_ happening. It was bad enough that he lost his erection, _twice_, but now Slade wanted to play doctor and find out the particulars. "Fuck me." Robin grumbled, "It happened just before I met you last time."

"And before that?"

"Shit…" Robin clenched his teeth and tried to count the many times before that. That was a task easier said than done because while one side of his brain was trying to think, the other side was telling him to curl up in a ball and die of embarrassment. "After you fucked me on the roof… It's only happened when I'm by myself…" he tried defending but it was a rather poor excuse. "It's never happened when I was with someone."

"Who else have you slept with?" one asked, his voice surprisingly free of venom or possessiveness. Probably, the thrill of a good puzzle was too exciting to worry about personal details.

"None…" the teen glared slightly, as if Slade had asked in an accusatory way.

Both Slades were quite for a moment, staring at Robin thoughtfully until one of them suddenly burst into laughter.

* * *

The next chapter will be a tad short. But fear not, Slade has realized something that will make things… interesting… For those of you that can already guess what's going on, you get a cookie. Enjoy that. It's for you.

Also, the logic question Slade asked of Robin is similar to one that I was asked during a board-game. I got it right and was dubbed "the smart one" which made me both a little happy for myself and worried for our chances of winning.


	12. Chapter 12

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I've decided to post the new chapter in honor of the holiday but I haven't had much time to clean it up and fix mistakes. Hopefully the story is good enough to read despite the errors. Thanks for being patient with my updates and/or occasionally messy writing. The school term is kicking my butt a bit and I seem to have misplace most all of my spare time. If you find it, please return it! I'll love you forever!

* * *

Chapter 12

* * *

"Oh-ho! I see now… I see…" the Slade in front of him laughed fully and Robin felt a shadow of uneasiness crawl over him. How was it that he loved being fucked and pleasantly tortured by the man but the moment he started _laughing_ was the moment the hero felt the most anxious? Of course, being the hero that Robin was, he hid that fear away.

"Mind cluing me in on it?" he asked, making his voice deliberately annoyed.

"Gladly," the man reached over to the other Slade and pulled off the face-plate, revealing a mess of wires and a small screen that was currently blank. "_This one_ is the _fake_." He clarified before pulling one of the wires out and gave the android a quick push off the bed.

"I don't suppose you're going to do the same?" Robin asked, eyeing his faceplate. "Or how else do you intend to prove that you're real?"

"You know better than to expect that," the man chided. "But I will give you this." He straightened up and pulled off his glove, revealing what looked like a very human hand but Robin still was not convinced. Knowing a simple hand would not be enough, Slade reached into his belt and pulled out a small blade. Robin cringed slightly when Slade pressed the razor sharp edge to his finger pad and cut open the skin. "It's hard to make a robot _bleed_."

Slade held his finger up to Robin, who looked it over suspiciously and then grabbed the hand, dragging it closer to his mouth before closing his lips over the digit and sucking, making sure the liquid was indeed blood. It certainly _tasted _like it. Robin pulled back and tried to think. Human blood generally coagulated within fifteen minutes after leaving the body… If kept in an air tight container with anticoagulants, it would be less likely to clot. But it would also need to be stored inside a refrigerated, air tight container to keep from going bad… The blood he tasted was warm… Maybe it was heated by the machine just enough during their little tryst… Or-

"Have I really made you that paranoid?" he chuckled, "If you like, I'd allow you to cut me somewhere else. I can't possibly have prepared artificial veins _everywhere_ on my body, if that's what you're thinking."

Robin glanced up at him suspiciously.

"Of course there _are_ limits to where I'll let you cut…" he murmured, grabbing the teen's hand and giving him the small metal piece. "There are some places I prefer to keep knives away from."

"Alright…" the boy said, staring at the blade uneasily, "On your chest."

Slade gave an unseen smile as he removed his neck-guard, he tossed it carelessly over the side of the bed where it hit the Slade-bot with a clang of metal on metal; next went the waist-guard. Rather than remove his shirt entirely, the villain pulled the black Kevlar higher up, stopping when he reached his chin so that he could watch his little bird in action.

Robin was timid as he reached forward, clutching the tiny blade between his thumb and pointer finger as he neared the man's warm chest. He decided to aim just above the man's left nipple but the closer he got, the more anxious he felt. Was Slade really going to let him _cut_ him? Sure, it was only a tiny little blade, not enough to do any _real_ damage, but wasn't it a little… _submissive_ of the man?

"I'm not going to pop," Slade rolled his eye. "Don't look so nervous."

Robin quickly schooled his expressions and pressed the edge into the skin. The dusty tan resisted at first, bending inward with the pressure but soon it gave way and the razor cut into the man's skin. The hero gave a short little gasp. Slade's chest had seemed so solid that he almost pictured the blade bouncing right off. But it didn't. Robin pulled the razor back and watched as small beads of red began to form, slowly until the thin red line was exposed and the blood gathered to form a red droplet.

"Convinced?" Slade asked him and Robin nodded, "Good… now clean it up."

Oddly enough, Robin didn't mind doing just that. He leaned forward, pressing his palms against the black Kevlar to keep it from slipping down while he extended his tongue and licked away at the small cut. There was hardly any blood from it, as the cut had been short and shallow, but the taste was obviously there. He gave a small moan when he felt Slade's hand rest on the top of his head and then glide down his thick black locks. The hand traveled further, tickling down the teen's spine in very light touches.

Robin pulled back when he felt himself hardening. "Blindfold?"

"If you like," Slade chuckled, knowing full well why the hero wanted that. It wasn't enough just to touch, Robin also wanted the aggression that could only be found in one of their kisses. He reached under one of the pillows and pulled out a strip of dark fabric before handing it to Robin, who tied it securely around his eyes.

"Okay," the hero breathed and Slade adjusted the wrap for good measure, making Robin smirk. Seeing that everything was in order, Slade removed his mask and tossed it aside.

"Aren't you going to ask me what was so funny earlier?" the man asked as he continued to remove his clothing. "Or are you so bothered that you've forgotten to ask?"

"I'm just being patient," Robin lied. Truthfully, he _had_ forgotten. He would have to remember to scold himself later, though. He would be _far_ too busy in the following hours.

"Then I suppose you can wait a bit longer," the man chuckled, reaching over to the bedside table and grabbing the bottle of flavored body oil. "How do you want it?"

"Oh, I have a choice?" Robin asked jokingly, though he was genuinely surprised. "You're being awfully generous, tonight. Are you sure you're not a robot?"

"I'm fairly certain I'm not. And don't get used to it. I had expected that we would have a third player for most of the night, so I didn't bother to prepare any more… toys."

"Sorry to put a damper on your plans," the teen smirked and leaned back against the bed, propping himself up on his elbows and waiting as he felt the bed shift when Slade moved closer.

"Not at all, the evening has been very… enlightening." Slade purred and Robin felt the raspy voice go straight to his groin.

"Care to explain what tha- ahh!" The hero gave a fast moan as the man pried his legs apart and proceeded to squirt the cool liquid over his erection, making it shrink slightly at first but then become impossibly harder.

"I'm surprised you don't see it yourself," Slade soothed with his voice, cupping Robin's balls in his hand and smearing more lube over his erection. "What happened to your pride as a detective?"

Robin curled his lips and prepared an answer, but Slade entered, hard and fast, filling the boy to the hilt in one single stroke.

"Ahh!" he hissed and grabbed the blankets above his head, twisting them violently as a wave of pleasure hit him, nearly making him come. "… God.. yes…"

"Still don't see what's happening?" Slade teased, pushing Robin's legs further apart as he started to move in shallow little thrusts.

"Well… I _am_ blindfolded," Robin smirked and adjusted himself to raise his hips slightly, urging Slade to go a bit faster. He was ashamed to admit it, but he was already close to coming.

"Very funny," the man teased, digging his hands under the young man's cheeks and lifting him further, angling his movements carefully to hit the small bundle of tissue that made Robin tense so nicely. "You're going to come soon, aren't you?"

Robin, finding himself far too occupied at this point to come up with a witty comeback, merely nodded and arched his back, "Faster, please."

Wanting to test out his theory, Slade obliged, delivering long and rough strokes that made Robin scream out in pleasure, curling his toes against the bed as he tried to push himself harder against the man as his hand moved down to his groin and he clumsily stroked himself.

With a smirk, Slade shooed Robin's hand away and took over, moving his calloused but slicked with lube hand over the teen's twitching need until the hero threw his head back and came with a scream. The villain enjoyed the view of Robin's muscles flexing and becoming defined under his skin; then, with a smirk, he lifted his hand away and licked away the cum.

"I love it when you fuck me like that…" Robin panted, perfectly aware that Slade was still hard inside him, meaning there was certainly more to come. He gave a lazy smile at the thought.

Slade burst into dark laugher, "And you _still_ haven't figured it out?"

"What's there to figure out?" Robin asked dreamily, coming down off his post-orgasm bliss but gently rocking his hips at the thought of a new one. He paused when he realized what Slade was referring to. "Oh.. _That_…You win some, you lose some. It was just a fluke."

"That was nothing close to a fluke, boy. And you_ know_ it. The reason you didn't come was because you didn't know which one was _real_." Slade had begun to move again, speeding up his long and powerful strokes.

Robin swallowed the lump in his throat as he realized what the man meant. "Are you suggesting that I-"

"_Yes_… You can't _come_ without _me._" Slade chuckled, leaning forward so that his grin hovered over the teen's slightly parted and wholly flustered lips. "Really, Robin. I'm _touched_. I had no idea that you valued my company so greatly."

"I _don't._" Robin objected.

"Really?" Slade stopped his movement and the hero gave a small frustrated mewl. "Well, then. I have some work to do. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if the robot fucked you."

"No, you-" Robin realized that his arms had somehow found their way around Slade's back and were holding him in place. "… Bastard." He finished sounding much more irritated than how he began the sentence. The blindfold covered most of it, but there was definitely a streak of bright red over the boy's cheeks. Why did bad-luck always seem to gather at the same time and place?

Slade gave another chuckle, "Don't worry; knowing that I'm the _only one_ that can make you come is a great responsibility. I have no intention of letting you down."

"I still hate you." The hero clarified, making sure that there were no misconceptions between them.

"Oh, I know. But you also _need_ me." Slade hiked one of Robin's legs over his shoulder and began moving a bit harder.

"I don't really need it…" Robin mumbled half heartedly, not really feeling any conviction behind his words.

Slade, not being the type of man that was easily discouraged, leaned forward and nibbled on Robin's earlobe while huskily asking, "No? But you _want_ it, don't you?" He pulled back and the teen hissed slightly at the empty feeling.

"Don't stop," he commanded, thrusting his hips up towards Slade and grinding the underside of his length into Slade's stomach.

"Then _say it._"

Robin wrinkled his nose and hissed out, "_I want it._"

"Try again," he teased, rubbing himself against the boy's opening and watching his pride crumble.

"_I want **you.**_"

"Good boy," Slade smirked, plunging into him and making him scream out as if in terrible pain or delight. It seemed to be the latter as Robin wound his leg around the back of Slade and moaned loudly.

"Yes… Slade… more…" He gasped, delighted when the man leaned forward and captured his lips in a heated and dominating kiss. Robin wrapped his hands in the man's white hair, pushing the kiss deeper until Slade grabbed his wrists and forced them down beside his head.

This only spurred the hero on. He lifted his head, crashing his lips into Slade's and letting their tongues battle for supremacy. Robin angrily bit the man's bottom lip as he tried to pull away. What was he trying to do, anyway?! _Breathe?_ This was no time for something as stupid as _breathing!_

"That's right, Robin. _Beg_ for it." He laughed as the teen tried to look indignant but failed miserably when the villain's cock brushed against his prostate.

"Fuck… ing… bas..tard…" Robin managed— barely.

"You're certainly full of piss and vinegar tonight," Slade mused as he picked up the pace. Both of them were coming close to orgasm and he had decided that it would be best to speed things along. After all, he had a point to prove. He leaned forward pressing his lips against the hero's neck and growling, "Do you like it? The way I _fuck_ you? _Filling_ you to the brim? I know that I'm the only one that can make you like this…" Robin arched up against the man, letting the huge length slide in and out of him while he moaned and twisted in the undeniable lust. "All I ask, is that when you come… You come for **_me._**"

Robin screamed out his pleasure and rode out the rest of his orgasm in a similar fashion. He wasn't sure if he screamed Slade's name as well, if he did, he would probably deny it later. Just when he thought the last of it was out and Slade was nearly done, he heard the man's husky voice command:

"Once more; for_ me_."

To Robin's shock, his body obeyed the voice, convulsing around the man in a chaotic pattern that pushed the villain over the edge as he spilled inside the teen's body with a mild groan.

Slade rolled to the side and left Robin trembling and dripping cum.

"Stop.. smirking… you… bastard…" the hero growled, only make the smirk on Slade's face wider. He did check the blindfold, though, just to make sure the boy hadn't _really_ seen it.

"I've no idea what you mean." Slade chuckled, running his fingers over the inside of the Titan's thigh. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."

"I'll… join you," Robin said, trying to catch his breath as he sat up.

"Oh? You want more?" Slade asked, now letting his fingers circle around Robin's navel. "Maybe… if you ask nicely."

I won't beg for it," Robin said definitively. "… But I _will_ admit that I want you."

"That's a start," Slade smirked as he hoisted the hero over his shoulder, taking a good moment to fondle the teen's ass as they entered the bathroom. "But I can promise you, Robin. Someday soon, I'll make you _beg _for it."

* * *

I wish all of you the best VD possible!... Er... by that I mean _Valentines Day_... not... you know...


	13. Chapter 13

I own a big pile of nothing~

First off: thank you to the writers that have endorsed my work! It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in my dried up little husk of a heart! I am humbled… but don't tell anyone… I like to keep my bitchy reputation.

Christ on a cracker, this chapter took FOREVER. I was a little unsatisfied with the beginning, but I really like the ending, so I'm hoping it all evens out (this is how my mind works at 3AM). It's also a long chapter and (bust out the confetti) the story has reached over 100 pages!!! That's friggin' big… at least for me, anyway.

Okay, I'll shut up now.

* * *

"Cocky bastard," Robin grumbled from over the man's shoulder, counting in his mind the number of steps Slade took to reach the bathroom.

"You love it."

"The cock part, yes," the teen admitted, wobbling slightly as he was placed onto his feet in what he guessed was the shower. "And speaking of which…" Slade decided that it was a good time to turn on the water and, Robin, guessing that it would happen sooner or later, tensed slightly but did not jump. "I hope you plan on fucking me into the wall again."

"I plan to fuck you _through_ it," Slade answered and Robin could sense the man kneeling before him.

"Is that why you have the bed just on the other side of the wall? Good planning." The hero gave a snarky little chuckle and leaned against the tiles, feeling the man's fingers trace up his thighs and then wrapping around his length.

"Hold still," Slade's voice warned him and Robin, sensing that something was about to happen, did. His lips tightened slightly when he felt a rounded metal tip press against his penis and then slowly begin to move in. He gave a slow hiss as the man pushed the metal pin into place, twisting it slightly along the way. Slade smirked when, as the sound was only halfway in, the teen's length began to harden. "Did you miss this?" he asked lightly, letting his nails gently tease the underside of the boy's shaft. "Your cock seems happy enough."

"Oh, believe me," Robin muttered, "it's thrilled."

"I've no desire to fuck a wet blanket, Robin, so quit pouting."

"I'm not-!" he started and his nose wrinkled. He _was_. And he _knew it_. "I'm just a little bothered because…" he blushed and Slade gave the side of his ass a quick slap.

"Spit it out."

"I… think you're right about me not being able to come unless… it's…"

"Unless it's me fucking you? I didn't realize that was up for debate. The way you screamed my name fairly well synched it."

"Of course _you're_ not upset about it," Robin grumbled, reaching blindly for the man's shaft to give it a quick stroke with his palm. "But this is not welcomed news to me."

"Why? We're fucking anyway, so it doesn't change anything," Slade said as he pushed the S-curved head of the sound against the teen's tip. He gave the hero's shaft a quick touch but then rested his hand on the boy's waist, watching his expressions closely as he began to speak.

"Doesn't it?" Robin frowned. "I can't have a _normal_ sex life when I can't get off for anyone but my arch nemesis."

"You couldn't have a _normal_ sex life if you _wanted_ to." Slade laughed and Robin glared against the blindfold. "In case you haven't noticed, you're not a normal boy, Robin; parading around in costume, fighting monsters, fighting _me_… not to mention the fact that you're a _masochist_. I can guarantee that someone like you is better suited for _celibacy_ than _normal_ _sex_."

"Good to know," Robin sulked.

Slade caught the teen's chin in his hand and lifted it so that the boy's lips were nearly touching his own, "Quit it," he warned. "Why not take advantage of the situation by using me while you can? I can assure you, I don't mind it."

"Oh?" Robin smirked, deciding that he really _was_ wasting valuable time. "And what about when you're not around? What about when I finally see you behind bars? Think they'll allow a conjugal visit?"

"You'll never catch me," Slade replied swiftly, grabbing one of the hero's legs and wrapping it behind him.

"Someone will, eventually," Robin complied, wrapping his hands around the man's neck and lifting himself slightly to grind against Slade's groin.

"If it's not you, no one will." The villain soothed, noticing the genuinely surprised look on the boy's features and smirking. It was true, though, at least most likely. Slade doubted that anyone would ever be able to beat him, but if anyone _could_, Robin was the only option.

"Bullshit," Robin mumbled with a grin before pulling Slade into a heated kiss. It was baseless flattery, the teen decided, but that didn't make it any less pleasant to hear. His grin only widened when Slade grabbed his hips, lifted him higher, and pressed his hardened length against the boy's entrance.

Robin groaned gratefully into the kiss as Slade's slick head entered him, quickly followed by the thick shaft and then…

The hero's face suddenly paled at the sound of a short tune playing from the main room. That wasn't… was it? Oh, _shit_. It was. Slade heard it also, pausing mid-thrust to watch the teen's expression of lust melt away.

"Slade-!" Robin said quickly, struggling more than was necessary as both feet returned to the floor and he followed the wall with his hand before reaching the door, "don't follow- blindfold!" Robin peeled the fabric away from his eyes once he was back in the main room as he scrambled for his noisy communicator.

He was surprised that Slade had allowed him to go so easily. He'd expected the man to hold him against the wall until he was done with him… part of Robin's mind was sad that he _didn't _do just that.

"Titan's?" he tried to keep his voice from growling as he pressed a button on the side of the device, turning on the speaker but not the camera.

"It's Adonis," Beast boy's voice told him.

"And the Mad Mod," Starfire cut in.

"Together?" Robin asked, thinking that a very unlikely pairing.

"No, but they're causing problems on different sides of Jump." Cyborg said, sounding out of breath. We can take Mod, can you help BB with Adonis?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there. Robin: out." The hero frantically reached for his uniform and began to pull it on.

"Problem?" Slade asked. Robin could tell from the sound of his voice that his mask was back on but a quick glance told him that it was the _only_ thing back on.

"Yeah. Sorry. Have to go."

Slade gave a sound of acknowledgement and watched Robin scramble into his pants, reaching to the tip of his penis to pull out the sound before Slade stopped him.

"No, no, keep it in. It won't hurt anything. Take this one too." Slade handed the boy another sound, slightly thicker and heavier than the one currently inside him. "Just for fun."

"You aren't mad?" Robin asked, trying not to sound disappointed as he deftly placed the cup in place and pulled up his trousers.

"Of course not. We agreed that our meetings would not interfere with our normal lives."

"Yeah… of course," Robin mumbled, fastening his belt around his hips and then fighting with his hair. "Can I borrow your-"

Slade tossed him the brush and Robin caught it with a slightly troubled expression, "it creeps me out when you know what I'm going to do next." He informed the man, roughly brushing the tangles into submission.

"You still surprise me every now and again," Slade wistfully let him know.

"You too," Robin smirked and then flinched as a nasty knot of hair decided that it would rather be torn out than untangled. "Shit," he hissed. "I need a haircut."

"I prefer it long," Slade commented offhandedly, taking a step closer to the teen and moving a wall of the dark hair into place. "It suits you."

The communicator on Robin's belt lit up and Beast Boy's voice called out, "Duuude?!"

"Almost there," Robin lied, feeling both thankful and guilty that he had jammed his tracker, making it impossible to tell where he actually was. He turned to Slade, "Later?"

"Of course," the man's voice soothed. "Be careful, Robin."

The teen turned his back quickly enough to hide his puzzled expression. That was an oddly sentimental thing to say and it gave the boy an uneasy feeling as the elevator door closed and he began his descent down to the ground level.

*

Slade gave a short chuckle when he saw Robin's shoulders tighten. He knew saying that would confuse the teen, but the villain in him _liked_ it when Robin was just a _little_ frazzled.

*

"Sorry I'm late," Robin announced to the changeling as he swung into the scene from a grappling. The large green gorilla gave a snort in reply and dodged a piece of flying debris. The hero cracked a smile, "Don't worry, I'll take it from here."

*

"I'm gonna' hit the shower. Tell the team to save me some waffles." Robin gave a little wave to the green teenager as he walked to his room, ignoring the still stunned look on the younger's face. He'd had a particularly good round against Adonis, kicking butt in record time, BB was impressed, perhaps a little too much so. Robin wondered offhandedly if he'd been slacking during their last few missions. He had good reason to be, what with trying to find out more about Slade.

A grin crept over his lips as he closed the door behind him and pulled out his _other_ communicator. It took a few moments before Slade answered, wearing his mask but apparently not his armor, as his neck was bare.

"Good morning," The man's voice went straight to Robin's groin.

"Hey," Robin said, suddenly feeling a little awkward. He didn't know _why_ though… it wasn't as if he was calling the man to ask him to the movies, no, he was just asking him if they could fuck again… that wasn't _at all_ awkward.

Slade cleared his throat and the teen straightened.

"Sorry. I was just calling to see if you wanted to meet again… maybe finish what we started?"

"I'd love to Robin, but I'm afraid I can't meet you for another two days."

"Oh?" Robin's interest peaked. "Have something planned? Should I count on seeing you?"

"I never kiss and tell," he replied casually, making the teen smirk.

"Until Sunday night, then?"

"Monday morning."

"Midnight?"

"Alright."

"Good, I'll see you then. Robin: ou- er, I mean, goodbye."

Slade gave a chuckle behind his mask and nodded before ending the transmission.

"Smooth," the teen laughed at himself before walking into his bathroom

*

"You guys should have seen it!" Beast Boy excitedly recounted the fight around the kitchen counter as the team, sans Robin, celebrated with waffles. "Robin was amazing! I mean, he was great before, but… wow!"

With a small swoosh, the door opened and the teen in question walked in, freshly clothed and drying his hair with a towel. "Come on, Beast Boy, I wasn't any better than usual."

"Yes you _were_!" the green one chirped. "It was like you could _see_ the punches before they were actually thrown! Are… are you psychic?"

"Not that I know of," Robin gave a little laugh and reached for a plate.

"But how do you _know_ you're not?!"

"I'm pretty sure if you were smart enough to see the future, you would have the insight to know that you were," Raven said in her usual raspy monotone as she reached for a cup of her favorite tea.

"Oh… yeah, that makes sense," Beast Boy said ambivalently.

"Oh!" Starfire's face lit up when she realized something. "I have seen the future! Does this mean that I am psychic?"

"No," Raven said numbly. "It only counts if you see the future and it _actually_ happens."

"Ah, then that is for the best. I wish to never see that future again."

Beast Boy gave a worried pat to his head and nodded, silently reminding himself to order another box of hair-growth stimulator and glaring at Robin's thick black hair. For him, the future could wait.

For Robin, on the other hand, the future couldn't come soon enough.

*

The teen had spent the two days waiting for the alarm to go off. It did, a few times, but not once was it because of Slade. He couldn't lie to himself and say that it wasn't disappointing. But it made sense, really. The villain was too smart to inadvertently give Robin information as to when his next heists would be. No, no. He would save that kind of information for when he wanted to barter with Robin… not that they really needed to barter now. They were both content with what the situation.

*

It took everything Robin had not to tear off his clothing in the elevator. Were it not for the stupid logic question Slade threw at him, he probably would have.

"A bit anxious, are we?" Slade asked as Robin entered the studio with a grin, already working on removing his cape.

"I've spent the last two days covering a constant hard-on; _'a bit anxious'_ doesn't _begin_ to cover it." The teen smirked, showing the man that he was joking- or at least partly so…

"I'm sure I can remedy that," Slade purred, "But I have prepared a fun game for the evening."

"And here I thought we'd stop at trivial pursuit." He said, now bare-chested and working on his belt. Slade could hardly keep himself from laughing, Robin really was something else. "What's the game, then? Are we going to play doctor?"

"More or less."

"Hmm…" Robin purred. "Alright then, _doctor._ How do you want me?"

"On the bed, naturally," Slade answered, not really playing along with the game.

"Oh?" the teen smiled as he sauntered over to the bed, kicking off his heavy boots and letting his belt fall to the floor. "I'm surprised you didn't invest in an examination table. You know, to set an ambiance."

"I'm sure the game itself will be realistic enough," the man soothed, watching the teen's cock bounce free of his trousers and grinning when he noticed the metal 'S' sticking out of the tip.

"Like what you see?" Robin grinned, tilting his head to the side and leaning back against the bed.

"Stroke it," Slade commanded in his same unwavering voice.

Robin's grin tilted up in the right corner as he reached forward, wrapping his hands at the base of his shaft and slowly dragging his hand upward.

"Good," the villain soothed, stepping closer and leering down over the boy, "now pull out the sound- slowly."

The teen pressed the tips of his fingers against the 'S' and pulled out the metal sound, his eyes narrowing behind the mask at the sensation. A small whimper came from his throat as the bulbed head was pulled from the tip of his penis, dripping with lube and a small bit of precome.

"I see you used the larger sound," Slade said offhandedly as he removed his gloves and reached forward to stroke Robin's chest. "You must really want to please me."

"I'm not doing it for _your_ pleasure," Robin snorted, "I happen to _like_ it."

"Watch the attitude," Slade warned, giving the boy's nipple a hard pinch and a little twist. The teen moaned loudly, arching his back into the feeling while his cock leaked more milky white precome.

"Ahh… harder!" he cried out, spreading his legs wider.

"My, my… aren't we especially masochistic tonight?" Slade moved his hand to the other nipple and gave it the same treatment until both were bright red and hard.

Robin moaned, sitting up and running his hands down the metal and Kevlar plated armor. He gave the man a teasing grin before letting his hands fall down to the man's groin and undoing his pants.

"Masochistic and overly eager," Slade mused as the hero maneuvered his pants and briefs away from his cock. "I like my odds."

"Shh," Robin soothed playfully but the villain understood. The teen didn't come to his apartment to _talk_, after all. Robin smiled at the new silence and rewarded the man by taking his hardened length into his mouth and sucking hard at the shaft.

Slade ran his hands through the long dark hair, letting the strands fall away from his fingers as the hero groaned and moved his mouth deeper over the hard length. The teen looked entirely too contented for the villain's liking, so he grabbed a fist-full of the dark hair and roughly began thrusting into Robin's mouth, getting a strangled grunt as a reply.

Robin felt his throat constricting around the hard length as it moved harshly back and forth. Oddly enough, that seemed to turn him on even more; probably it was the result of what Slade had said to him before he left to fight Adonis.

_Be careful, Robin._ Those words were still echoing numbly inside his head. Robin didn't like it. It was too familiar, too kind, like something that Batman would have told him. He was older now, he could take care of himself. He didn't need that sort of encouragement any longer. He didn't want it.

Slade pulled back hard on Robin's hair, jerking him off his cock just before the teen reacted with a snarl as he clenched his teeth.

"Spread your legs for me," the villain's voice was little more than a husky whisper, but the teen obeyed as though it were a very sharp command.

Robin's toes curled into the fabric of the bedspread when Slade entered him hard and fast, clearly intent on making him come as soon as possible.

"Yes…" Robin gasped, slinging his hand behind the man's neck while he pushed himself off the bed with the other hand to meet the man's thrusts.

Slade watched, grinning from behind his mask as the teen threw his head back and moaned. Their hips met hard with each thrust, but it was still taking too long for the villain's taste; after all, he had fun games and pretty new toys to try out.

"Remember what you learned, Robin. Only I can give you what you need."

"Don't… need it," Robin hissed. "Just _want_ it."

"And you remember what I said… don't you? That I would make you _beg for it_?"

"Good luck," the teen smirked, meeting the man's thrust and shaking hard as he felt his orgasm building.

"You too," Slade mused, grabbing the hero's cock in his hands and giving it only a few short pumps before the teen broke down and came hard over the man.

Robin gave a very contented groan and fell back against the bed, causing the man to slip out; judging by the teen's expression, that had been the idea.

"That's pretty brave of you," Slade commented lightly as he looked down at the satisfied teen.

"Oh?" Robin lazily opened an eye and smirked, "Sorry, I didn't realize that you _needed_ _me_ to do anything."

"Very cute," the man said in monotone. "At least I know that I don't _need_ to go _easy_ on you."

"You wouldn't do that anyway."

"I'm ruthless, Robin, _not_ wreck less. You may not realize it yet, but I gave you a great gift by letting you come just now."

The teen unconsciously bit his tongue, wondering if he'd somehow landed himself into trouble.

"Of course, I won't do anything to harm you. But I can make things significantly more painful… Though… maybe that's what you _wanted_ all along?"

He bit harder over his tongue, realized what he was doing, and then stopped it. Maybe there was some merit to that idea after all.

"I can take anything you throw at me," Robin decided, wondering if it was really true.

"Remember that," Slade hummed, giving the hero a small nudge and motioning him to move up the bed.

As he was moving, Robin noticed something hanging from the headboard… two things, actually. Thick metal cuffs with some sort of material lining the inside of them.

"Bondage?"

"For your protection, I assure you."

Robin really was beginning to feel a little worried but he dared not show it. This was probably another game. Slade only wanted him scared... At least that's what he kept telling himself as he leaned back against the headboard and placed his wrists in the manacles, letting the villain close and tighten them. Then the man moved to his legs, pulling restraints that seemed to be attached at the side of the bed and locking them down around the teen's ankles. A few quick pulls on the straps and Robin's legs were held apart.

"Oh, yes. I feel very protected," Robin mused as he pulled at the restraints a bit, testing them.

"You'll thank me later. It's important that you hold still."

"Okay, I'll bite. What do you have planned?" Robin asked with a frown, perfectly aware that it was much too late to be asking such a question.

"I was thinking the other night, about how I wanted to hear you beg for me again."

"_Again?_ I _never_-"

"You did. Our first time… on the rooftop. You weren't so much begging for _me_ as you were begging for your own release… but now that we know that your pleasure depends on me, I think it's time we cut out the middle man."

"I _won't_ beg."Robin stubbornly said.

Slade only smirked behind his mask as reached to one of the bedside tables, pulling out a clear bit of tubing. It was plastic and flexible too it seemed, as the villain played with it shortly before coating it in lube and moving in.

Robin avoided asking questions but watched the man closely as one end of the tubing came closer to his penis which, to the teens chagrin, twitched lightly at the prospect. Damn traitor.

His body tensed slightly when the tip began to move in, it was much lighter than his previous sounds which, oddly enough, seemed to pose more of a challenge to push inside. It also didn't help that he was getting harder. Luckily, Slade had been paying attention to this and was fairly generous with the lube. It slid in much more easily once the villain had pushed the tube about two inches deep. Robin's eyes widened as he felt the plastic moving deeper inside him, he held his breath and tried not to panic.

"Slade…" the teen said in almost a warning.

"Relax, I won't go much farther. I have no desire to see you piss yourself."

Robin let out a small breath of air. He was never fully sure what the man wanted, but finding that he didn't want… _that_… was really a very welcomed thought.

"There…" The man's voice was a smooth purr as he moved his hand away and eyed the teen's half-hard member.

Robin looked down as well and bit his tongue. Alright… the tube was in… what came next?

Slade once again reached over to the bedside table but this time he pulled out a strange container or something of the sort. It almost looked like a syringe, but it was far too large and did not have a sharp needle tip. It was filled with some liquid substance that gave it a creamy white appearance.

The teen's eyes widened as Slade hooked up the strange thing to the tube and grabbed a knife.

"Whoa!" Robin flinched as the villain moved the blade near a very, _very_ sensitive area.

"I'm not going to cut you," Slade said dryly, mentally patting himself on the back for tying up the boy before they had begun. "I'm merely making a cut in the tube to let the air out. Honestly, Robin, if I didn't know better, I would swear that you didn't trust me."

"I don't," the hero smirked. "I only come for the food."

"Speaking of that, you're making breakfast next time." Slade spoke as he made a quick cut and began to push the syringe, sending the liquid spilling into the tube. Robin felt a pressure building, and it increased when the liquid neared the cut in the tube and Slade held it between his fingers to keep it from leaking out.

"What… What is that?" Robin asked as he felt the liquid move inside him.

"It won't hurt you," Slade said, holding the tube until all of the liquid had emptied from the syringe and drained into tube.

"What _is_ it?" Robin asked again, wondering if he was just imagining the sensation that the liquid was still moving inside him.

"The liquid is made of the same substance the robot ejaculated."

"Yeah? Fake cum?"

"Nano-tech."

Robin's face went blank before becoming very angry. "NANOTECHNOLOGY?"

"That's what I told you," the man replied coolly. "And like I said, it won't harm you."

"The hell it won't! Get it out of me!"

"It will come out when I want it to."

"The hell with that! Get it out!"

"There is only one way to get it out," Slade's voice was teasing him from behind the mask, making Robin growl and fight against his cuffs. He growled harder when Slade leaned forward and whispered in a husky breath, "_Are you ready to beg for it?_"

"Get. It. Out." Robin hissed.

"It will come out when I let it," Slade hissed back. "And I'll let you come as soon as you _beg me_."

"Slade, I'm telling you-" Robin gasped and tried to curl up but his legs only struggled against the bindings. "Ahh… what….?"

"It seems that the nanos have reached your testis. You might feel a little tingling."

"A _little_ tingling?!" Robin's voice hitched. "It's- ahn!"

"Yes?" Slade asked, waiting for the teen to start begging.

"Slade… let me… the cuffs."

"You want free?"

Robin nodded and Slade decided to allow it, unhinging the boy's ankles at first and then reaching to undo his wrists. The teen's hands immediately fell to his groin and he began rubbing furiously, trying to relieve the strange sensation.

"It will stop when you come."

"I know," Robin growled, climbing on top of the man, "give me the lube."

Slade reached into his belt and pulled out a small container, handing it to the teen who quickly opened it and emptied it onto the thick cock beneath him.

"So eager," the man purred as Robin guided the slick length inside him, "Perhaps I should explain…"

Robin started moving furiously over the man, rocking his hips back and forth while his fingers dug into the man's shoulder. Riding, he found, was not nearly as easy as just bracing himself.

"I designed these probes with a few specific functions. I control everything that you are feeling… For example…"

Robin threw his head back in a strangled moan as he felt his body tightening. It felt as though he was suddenly going to orgasm… but… it never came and the sensation never stopped. It was as if it was being held inside him, building up but never moving.

"_Slade!_" the hero whimpered, furiously stroking himself in a vain attempt to find release.

"Yes, Robin?" the man asked almost innocently.

The boy didn't answer immediately; he only stroked faster and rode harder while he leaned closer to the masked face. His lips parted and he drew in a strained gasp.

"Blindfold me," he said, lips brushing against the slit-like vents of the mask.

"Does the little bird want a kiss?" Slade teased, bucking his hips slightly and making Robin scream. He discretely pressed a remote that was attached to his wrist, giving the teen a small break from the nearly unbearable and most certainly painful experience.

"I want all of you…" the boy whispered hoarsely, still riding the man's cock. "It has to be you… so I won't hold back…"

"Alright," Slade hummed, pulling out a roll of thick material from his belt and tying it around the hero's eyes. "Show me."

Robin heard the sound of the mask moving away from the man's face, first a click of the holders, a brief scraping of the metal, and finally that first breath of new air as the coolness of the room hit the man's face and mouth.

The teen wasted no time; he slung his arm around Slade's neck and pulled him closer in a strong and challenging kiss. Slade, of course, answered it with increased aggression, forcing his mouth harder against the hero's and using his free hand to grab and grind the body pressed against his.

"Lie back," Robin hissed between kisses, pushing the man's chest down until his back was flat against the bed. The teen felt the villain's rough hands dig into his hips, lifting him up and then pressing him down over the hard mass of flash.

Robin bit his lip as he rode, feeling the orgasm building inside him. Would Slade let him come this time? The prospects were grim.

"Yes… fuck me… ahh!" Robin felt himself saying and he felt a definite twitch of interest from inside him. "Harder! Ahh…! More!"

Slade, despite all his intentions to hold out, felt himself building up to his release. Seeing that it was really quite pointless to fight it, the man decided to go out with a bang and not a whimper. He smirked when his fingers pressed the small buttons on the remote.

"FUCK!" Robin screamed out, arching his back to a painful looking angle and grabbing his erection tightly. It was back with a vengeance, that feeling of near release that drove the teen mad. It was an intense tingling, like an itch begging to be scratched, growing more and more painful.

Slade closed his eye and groaned as Robin's muscles tightened around him, squeezing hard as the nanobots worked inside him. Hardly more than a moment later, Slade dug his hands into the boy's hips, forcing him down and coming deep inside him.

It was clear from the way that the teen continued to move that he did not realize that his partner had reached orgasm. But soon Robin gave a frustrated moan at the softened thing inside him.

"Slade," he growled, digging his nails into the man's chest, "let me come."

"You know what to do, Robin. I won't stop you from that. You must remember what I want."

"What you… want?" Robin gasped and the villain had the decency to turn down the power of the nanoprobes.

"I want to watch as you surrender everything you hold dear at my feet… Remember that? Do you know what that _means?_"

"_I. Won't. Beg._" Robin told him once again. "How many times do I have t- Ah…aah!"

"I can wait," Slade told him, grabbing the boy's shoulders and guiding the down on the bedspread. "Believe Robin, I've been a very patient man… I can wait."

Robin growled, twisting on his side and pressing his behind against the man's hips, "Are you just going to _talk_ at me all night?"

"I have no intention of being _that_ cruel, boy." Slade chuckled as he grabbed Robin's leg and lifted it higher.

"Unnngh! Yes…" Robin moaned, throwing his head back and holding his legs apart as Slade's half-hard length rubbed against him, "Don't stop."

Slade gave a tiny smirk as his cock stiffened further and he slowly began to press inside the teen who moaned and writhed in return.

Robin twisted as best he could to let his lips brush against Slade's seeking another hard and angry kiss. Instead of that, Slade pressed his lips against the hero's, slowly teasing his tongue into the boy's mouth and earning a slow moan as Robin submitted to the odd sense of affection and slowly let his tongue return the gesture.

That, of course, is when Slade played with the control once again, making Robin double over and scream out at the feeling of extreme pressure.

"Too much?" Slade feigned concern as he pulled out the tube and threw it to the side "All you have to do, Robin, is throw down your pride and submit to me."

"No!" Robin moaned, "No…"

"One word Robin, that's all you need," Slade whispered, pushing Robin into the bed and fucking him with long, hard strokes.

"No…" Robin hissed, fingers and toes curling into the covers. "I won't!"

"_Say it_!" Slade growled, grabbing a handful of the dark hair and pressing Robin's head into the mattress.

"NO!" Robin snarled and lashed back against the man, throwing him off balance before Slade came back and pinned the hero's wrists beside his head.

"Stubborn as ever, aren't you?" the man chuckled, and Robin snarled at him, baring his teeth. Slade noticed the blindfold was slightly damp, left wet from the angry and frustrated tears. "Alright. If you won't _beg_ for it, then you'll just have to _work_ for it."

"Bastard" Robin hissed, feeling the man roll onto his back. He didn't pass on the opportunity, though, as he quickly straddled the man's hips and sank down on the swollen cock.

Slade grinned and took a quick look at the device he'd set next to the bed. To anyone but him, it looked like an alarm clock. In reality, it was monitoring Robin's vital signs. A live feed was provided a select number of the nano-probes, ensuring that the teen didn't experience a potentially dangerous case of blue-balls.

He had been watching the device closely and had found, much to his disappointment, that Robin would rather suffer great pain than to submit. It was an interesting turn of events, something the man did not expect, but he was glad to see it all the same. He held back a chuckle as he mused over Robin's stubbornness, then decided to give Robin one hell of a reward for his efforts.

The hero screamed as Slade turned the nanos up higher, moving in earnest, grinding his hips against the man's while tightening around his member, milking him tensely.

"Slade," Robin groaned as the man pushed his hand aside and began to stroke his throbbing cock. "Let me…"

His voice was tired and worn down, pushed nearly to the point of exhaustion as he threw his head back and growled.

"Keep going," Slade commanded, "You'll come when I do."

Robin nodded, more to himself than to Slade, the message was clear enough. His movements were slower, though, and Slade decided to fix that by turning up the power yet again. A quick glance at the monitor told him that Robin was in no danger, but his scream was almost more convincing than the readings. The pain was enough to make Robin jolt, clamping down on the man's length as it became rock hard and then exploded inside the teen.

Mercifully, this is also when Slade gave the signal for the nanobots to shut down.

Robin was sure that he had screamed when he came, but he could not recall hearing any sound. Nor could he recall seeing anything. It seemed that, if only for a single moment, the world had simply failed to exist.

*

He awoke, breathing fairly heavily and covered in a sweat that made his burning skin feel pleasantly chilled. It was obvious that he had landed on Slade's still clothed chest after his blackout and that he had been out for any number of minutes. He gave a small groan and tried to move, but a firm hand pushed him down.

"Shh," a stern voice said, "rest."

Robin lay still, catching the rest of his breath while Slade languidly stroked his tangled hair. He wouldn't admit to liking it just yet, but after such a fierce battle of wills, the teen really did enjoy the slow and gentle caresses.

"We are never doing that again," Robin commented darkly.

"No?" Slade mused, "I think we will."

Robin gave a short growl, which was really the strongest form of protest he could conjure at the time. But soon after he smirked as a particularly deviant thought entered his brain.

"Alright, Slade. We'll do it again… but only if you beg me."

* * *

* * *

Hope it was worth the wait!

**Question: Are the chapters getting too long?** I can do semi-faster releases with shorter chapters, but that means that some chapters would feature more non-lemon action and dialogue. It's up to you guys, let me know.

Also: I'm thinking about finding a beta, if anyone is interested. I tend to write late at night and leave really dumb mistakes in my wake…. That's a pun… late-night writing… wake… heh heh (again, it's 3AM as I'm writing this). I can't say the job will be really rewarding except that you'll get to see all the work before it's published. So, if you like reading gay smut and know how to spot my dumb mistakes and (this one's important) have the time to deal with my dumb mistakes, and (this one's really important) would like to help me get rid of my dumb mistakes, let me know!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and I'm only too happy to share

I know, I know. Bad me for not updating regularly! In my defense, stuff is happening.

Everyone please take a moment to thank LindenMae for beta-ing! Not only did she do an awesome job, but she did it very quickly despite her own busy schedule. Send her happy thoughts or I will seriously hunt you down ^,^!

=.= Seriously. =^,^=

* * *

"Very cute, Robin," the man chuckled lightly, sending goosebumps across the hero's skin.

"That really was a mean game."

"Would you have preferred Chutes and Ladders?"

"I didn't say it was a _bad_ game," Robin commented lightly, sounding half asleep. "Just that it was mean."

"I'll take that as a sign that you liked it."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"No? I think you did. You've always been like that. You like the struggle and the pain."

"I like the sex," Robin corrected him dimly, though he knew Slade's answer was probably closer to the truth. He then mumbled darkly, "No one really _likes_ pain."

"You seem to," Slade spoke softly, lulling the teen into a dreamlike state. "That's why you do it, isn't it? Why you're a hero?" Robin made a very small sound of protest, though it could have easily been mistaken for small moan as the teen began to drift further into sleep. "You don't know what to do if you're not fighting for something… And the pain… it makes you feel like you're accomplishing something, doesn't it? Nothing is ever gained without sacrifice, after all."

The teen's eyebrows knit together under the blindfold, silently thinking over what the man had just said… It wasn't true… not quite… but still a very small part of him felt the villain was right.

Slade waited for an answer but soon felt the boy's body relaxing as he fell peacefully asleep.

*

Robin drifted in and out of a deep sleep, moaning slightly at the feeling of Slade's heavy hand moving down his back, petting his dark hair. The thought made him uncomfortable, but the feeling was more than enough to make him stay in place. He would get up to have a shower soon, the sticky feeling under his stomach told him that he needed it. And then he would go back to the tower and spend a very intimate moment with the nano-sweeper.

"Finally awake, I see." Slade's voice alerted Robin to the fact that he actually _had_ woken up.

"Unnngh…." Robin replied. "What time is it?"

"Just after four. I must have really worn you out."

"You helped. Johnny Rancid gets most of the credit," Robin mumbled into the man's chest. "Idiot robbed a bike shop just before sundown."

Slade felt the boy's lips twitch slightly against his skin when the hand that had been stroking his hair moved just a bit lower than usual. The man decided to take a step further, moving his middle finger between Robin's cheeks and slowly pressing against the teen's entrance.

"God help you if you've got those nanobots waiting," the boy said, spreading his legs just a bit to give Slade better access.

"No, I don't think you can _handle_ it right now," Slade challenged the boy nonchalantly and Robin gave a little growl.

"Nice try, but I'm not falling for that old trick."

"Worth a shot," Slade hummed, sliding the tip of his middle finger between the boy's cheeks and gently rubbing. Robin moaned in response and shifted upward, leaving nips and kisses in his wake as he made his way to the villain's mouth. The teen had expected the man to kiss his mouth forcefully but, instead of aggression, he was met with a gentle and curious set of lips.

He paused for a moment, unsure of what to do as he waited for the kiss to deepen… it didn't. Slade parted his lips suggestively but his tongue stayed inside his mouth, teasing Robin silently. Suddenly it dawned on Robin that the man probably _was_ teasing him, testing the limits of what was and was not kosher in a relationship that consisted almost entirely of aggression and lust. His brows knit together as his brain began to question why. What was the purpose of slow and loving gestures? Slade didn't want that, did he? And Robin certainly didn't want that.

Robin's mouth gave the faintest flicker of a smile when he realized something. Slade was toying with him… that was obvious… but it wasn't too obvious that the hero could play the game as well.

The kiss remained chaste, but it was about the only thing that did as Robin's hands began exploring the man's chest, playing over the hard surface and teasing his nipples with his thumbs. He then began moving his hips, slowly raising them until his opening was flush against the tip of Slade's penis which gave a definite twitch of interest.

He moaned gently, rubbing himself against Slade, letting his hardening cock tease against his entrance, letting just the very tip of the man close enough to feel the muscles twitching.

"Do you want it?" he whispered slowly into the man's ear, planting a kiss just under it while his hands moved up the thick shoulders and then down the hard arms. Robin didn't try to hide the fact that he was groping Slade's muscles; they felt nice under his grip, something akin to riding horses or controlling any other animal that was bigger, stronger, and more dangerous than a human.

Slade gave a dark chuckle, "I believe you've begun playing my little game for real now."

"I believe," Robin smirked as a metal click sounded on either side of the villain's head, "that I've just won it."

Slade tried to pull away from the metal manacles that bound his wrists. "Clever boy," he soothed, bucking his hips lightly, "But I wonder what you'll do now that you've, as you said, _won it_."

"I'm not sure yet," Robin purred, sitting up a bit taller while his legs straddled the man. It really was a lovely sight to see but Slade hardly noticed; his attention was focused more on the hint of a grin that flushed over the hero's lips. "But I think I know where to start…"

The teen chuckled as he leapt off the bed and moved over to the other side of the large studio. He lifted his blindfold as he walked, forcing himself not to look back at the man chained to the bed. He wanted to, dearly, but it wasn't worth the risk. His short trip ended in front of an ordinary looking drawer that, once opened, looked significantly more interesting.

"Let's see… he murmured in his state of pure jubilance. "What to choose?"

Slade's eye narrowed. He knew he should have put a lock on that drawer.

"Ooh, these look promising…" Robin said as he pulled out a pair of small silver clamps, "what else…"

The teen took a few moments rummaging through the drawer before he found a few fun looking toys. He readjusted his blindfold before he made his way back to the bed with a very wide grin on his face.

_**CRACK!**_

Robin gave a little snort through his nose, knowing exactly what that sound meant.

"You never let me have any fun," he informed the man, clearly trying to convey his glare through the blindfold.

"Judging by the way you moan my name, I think you have fun enough for the two of us." Slade hummed as he wrapped his newly freed hands around the boy's hips. "And what have we here, hmm?"

"Well, they were _supposed_ to be _my_ entertainment," Robin huffed as Slade pulled one of the items out from the boy's hands. Nipple clamps, great.

"And why don't we see what we can do with these…" Slade asked as he trailed the cold metal over Robin's chest, circling his nipples. "Why don't you lie back?"

Robin obliged with a little scowl that did not go unnoticed by Slade.

"You're a little old to pout," Slade commented, soothing the clamps over the little pink buds before leaning down and capturing one gently between his teeth. "Are you really so upset that I took your toys away?"

Robin gave the man a harsh stare that managed to breach the fabric, "I'm just a tad bothered that you cheat at our little game."

"Me? Cheat?" Slade chuckled, "Never."

"It's a bother, really," Robin sighed, the slight lilt in his voice a very subtle indication that he was again playing. "What is the point in participating in a game that I'm bound to lose?"

"You never were one to appreciate a journey above a destination," Slade hummed, slowly releasing his fingers from the silver clips and letting them cling to the boy's nipples. Robin winced slightly but his groin also twitched quite noticeably.

"I just hope you don't run out of toys," Robin smirked, "Otherwise I may become bored of playing with you."

"I doubt that could happen," the villain snorted, letting the other clamp bite down on the teen's nipple.

"No?" Robin arched slightly at the gentle strokes the man gave his chest. "Maybe not… if you let me win once and awhile."

"_Let _you win?" he smirked, pulling at a candle in Robin's hands and reaching into his utility pouch for a lighter. "I had no idea you wanted to win so badly that you'd expect me to _let_ you win."

"Touché, Mr. Villain," the hero pursed his lips slightly as he heard a lighter striking. He could see a dim glowing light through the blindfold as Slade brought the candle closer, waiting for the wax to start dripping. "I suppose you wouldn't want that any more than I would. You're quite the sore loser."

"I can change that, if you like," Slade offered thoughtfully, pulling the candle back a bit. "I could make you a sore winner."

"Wouldn't that mean letting me win?" Robin asked innocently, keeping his eyes open as he tried to watch where the flame was through the cloth.

"That depends entirely on your definition of 'winning.'" Slade grinned and gave a short huff, blowing out the candle that he knew Robin was monitoring. "If I were to, say, use the nanos on myself… If I let _you_ have control over _me_… who do you think would _win_?"

"But… you would never do that, though." Robin said very carefully, wondering what kind of new game this was.

"Wouldn't I?" Slade leered. "It would certainly make things interesting, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah… but…" Robin tried to wrap his mind around the concept. Sure, it sounded fun, it sounded _very_ fun… but Slade wouldn't give him the upper hand just like that… "You wouldn't."

"Of course… if I did, _you_ would be completely at _my_ mercy. I might not have the restraint to hold back… I'm not sure you could handle it."

"Of course I could." Robin bit his cheek when he realized that he'd fallen into the very same trap he'd managed to avoid earlier. Slade gave a chuckle and reached forward, removing the nipple clamps before moving off the bed. "Sly bastard," Robin mumbled as he rubbed his chest and winced, pulling back slightly before trying again with a much softer touch.

"Why thank you," Slade responded. "And you can take off your blindfold now."

Robin did, reaching up to his face and quickly pulling the fabric away from his eyes. Slade, of course, had replaced his mask and was walking across the studio to where his desk and computer were waiting. The teen felt a small shiver when he realized that, although the man was still clothed, he hadn't bothered to tuck himself in.

"Nice view," Robin commented before Slade could; the man had probably noticed him looking and was on the verge of saying _something_.

"Not so bad yourself," Slade's voice sounded like silk from behind the black and orange mask as his grey eye darted down at the teen's body. "Though you look a little worn out… Perhaps we should reschedule?"

"Oh, no. You're not backing out of this one," Robin smirked. "I don't care how _scared_ you are, you agreed to it." Slade made a sound that could only be described as an indignant snort but the hero saw past it, "And don't give me that, Slade. I can nearly _hear_ the smirk you're making."

The man gave a chuckle when he realized that he actually _was_ smirking. "We do know each other too well sometimes, don't we?" he asked lightly as he reached into the desk drawer and pulled out another syringe-like container and a clean length of tubing before putting his attention on the computer where he re-worked settings on the nanos.

"Too often," Robin answered. "And sometimes not enough."

"Oh?"

"Like now, for instance… I can't figure out why you would use the nanos on yourself. Why are you letting me have control over you?"

"I'm not," Slade clarified. "I'm giving you control over my body; and, really, only a certain part or it. If you think _that's_ giving you control over me, you will be _sorely_ mistaken."

"You planned for all of this to happen, didn't you?" the hero couldn't help but accuse with a chuckle.

"Not all of it. But when inspiration hits…"

"Right," Robin's lips curved into a little grin. He knew he was playing with fire and that Slade would still have the upper hand, no matter what games they played. Never the less, he was excited at the prospect of the very slight role-reversal.

Slade took a few minutes to explain how everything worked, pointing out the disguised alarm clock and then handing the teen a very small remote that controlled the nanos.

Robin's eyes widened as he pressed one of the buttons for himself and watched the liquid inside the tube dance around wildly. He also noted a very light sensation from his groin, no doubt from the nanos that were still inside him.

The hero watched with a morbid sort of curiosity as the man put the tube into place. He had somehow expected Slade not to use the tube at all, even though it seemed quite impossible to get the nanos inside without a tube. It wasn't as though Slade couldn't take it… the man could handle pain better than anyone… but to see him using the same _techniques_ and _tools _that he used on Robin seemed almost surreal. The teen assumed there was supposed to be a large gap between what was and was not taboo in their relationship. Wasn't it strange for Slade to allow Robin to have any power? Or for Slade to have any toys used on him? Wasn't that terribly _submissive?_

"Alright," Slade said as he pulled out the tube and leered at the teen. "When you're ready."

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Robin asked, soothing his fingers over the control.

"It's possible," Slade hummed, running his hand up the soft inner-thigh of the boy. "But have you regretted anything else you've done with me?" Robin, despite his best attempts not to, felt himself smirking. Slade gave a soft chuckle and then gently commanded, "Go on, then."

"Bossy as ever," the hero smirked and toggled the control. His eyes glanced over at the disguised alarm clock, noting the hike in blood pressure; he then turned back to the villain's cock which was swelling quite visibly. "Painful, isn't it?" he couldn't help but tease as he ran his hand under the man's balls and played with them slowly in his hands.

"You tell me," Slade countered, pushing the teen over and parting his legs quickly.

Robin made a faint noise of shock and braced himself for the feeling of the thick shaft that was soon to enter him. It wasn't until Slade gave a short chuckle that he realized the man was _still_ toying with him. Waiting and teasing. He hadn't even entered him.

"Scared?" The villain asked in a low purr as he reached over to the bedside and grabbed a bottle of lube. "You should be. The nanos act as a cock-ring. That means I'm _bigger_ and _thicker_ than usual."

"Oh, Christ…" Robin breathed unconsciously and Slade smirked behind his mask.

"Not only that… but I can _stay_ hard for a _very_ long time." He uncapped the bottle and applied a generous amount over his cock. "You know… the offer still stands…" Slade grabbed Robin's hips and slowly began to sink his engorged shaft into the teen's ass, watching the younger boy's expression as his lips parted in a subtle hiss from the feeling. "Maybe I'll go easy on you if you beg…"

Robin, who had closed his eyes at the feeling of slowly being entered, suddenly gave a surprised expression. Slade _was_ bigger! He could feel it inside him, pressing inch by inch into him, veins throbbing hard as they slowly moved deeper. Slade laughed softly and Robin clutched the remote more tightly. "I appreciate that, Slade," he spoke as evenly as his voice would allow. "But don't expect the same from me."

Slade made a very strangled sound as Robin's fingers pressed against the controls, turning up the power on the nanobots. Robin had no doubt the small machines were working, as Slade had never entered him quite so roughly before. It seemed that the bastard hadn't lied about not going easy on him.

"Fuck! Yes!" Robin soon found himself screaming as Slade began slamming into him. He lifted his legs to hook around the man's hips, but that only seemed to hinder his movements, so Slade had grabbed them and merely held them apart while his hips ground against Robin.

"Like it?" Slade whispered with a husky voice that was nearly drowned out by the sound of skin hitting skin. He smirked when Robin only moaned and reached down to stroke his own shaft. That simply wouldn't do. Slade grabbed both of Robin's wrists and pinned them to the bed without missing a single stroke. "Answer me."

Robin gasped as his hands were torn away from his pleasure and he shot a glare at the man. "Shut it and fuck me." He hissed at the mask, feeling the same rush of anger he usually felt when he and Slade fought. He finally had a bit of control in their games; he certainly wasn't going to give it up!

"Impudent little brat," Slade laughed, watching the hero gasp for air as his hips slammed back and forth inside him. "I should _put you in your place._"

Robin growled as Slade's fingers dug into his waist, dragging him upward as the man fell back against the bed. A hard slap on his ass alerted him as to what he was to do. _Ride. Hard._

"If this is my place…" Robin paused for a breath as his body bounced up and down, clenching down as he saw fit and enjoying the very small little grunts from Slade as he did so, "I like the view."

Slade looked up at the teen and smirked. Robin really did seem to be enjoying himself. It wasn't often that they fucked without Robin wearing a blindfold, and the teen obviously enjoyed it. However, his expressions were, in some ways, more inhibited than when he wasn't able to see.

"Go faster," Slade commanded, reaching up and giving the boy's nipples a hard flick.

"Maybe…" Robin whispered darkly, leaning over the man with a vicious smirk that reminded him of how similar they were. "Since I am in control, I should move slowly… Give you a taste of what it's like to be _teased._"

"Is that what you want?" Slade purred roughly as he looped a hand behind the hero's neck and dragged him down to face him. "To _see_ me lose control?"

Robin, out of sheer habit, found his lips fumbling against the vents on Slade's mask; he tried to pull back but the hand wouldn't give him room.

"Or is it enough just to _feel_ it?" Slade whispered, letting his hand brush over Robin's cheek and carefully watching the teen's expression shift as he considered his options. "The nano monitors have an alarm function. It will beep before anything dangerous happens, so… if you want…"

"How is it…" Robin chuckled and growled all at once, "that even if I'm riding on _top_, I'm still pulled _down_ by you?"

"My apologies," Slade responded in a calm voice as his hand released Robin's neck and moved down to hips that he grabbed greedily and began to move. The hero gave a little sound his body began grinding over the thick cock, "I simply assumed that you might have wanted a kiss just now. I can't give you that if I'm masked…"

"You could always take it off?" Robin offered benevolently, pushing his hands against the strong chest and taking over as best he could by setting a faster pace.

"You'd like _that_, wouldn't you?" Slade laughed as he thrust his hips off the bed, lifting Robin's body with it for a brief moment and making the teen groan out loudly in satisfaction. "But no. Unless you want to break our deal?"

"Oh, stop smirking in there." Robin glared playfully from behind his own mask. "I've already made one deal with the devil, I'm not about to make another."

"So, blindfold, or no?" Slade offered, running his thumbs over the teen's thighs while his hands grabbed at the muscles.

The corners of Robin's lips twitched slightly and he pressed his fingers over the remote once again, "No."

Slade, to the surprise of both men, gave a growl with the sudden reactivation of the nanos and thrust up once again into the tightness. Robin could feel the nanos working too, but not nearly as strongly as the man did because he'd managed to purge most of the tiny things when he last came.

"That's… my boy…" Slade growled between low and hungry gasps.

Robin had a mental orgasm and very nearly a physical one at that thought. _Slade_… _panting_… There was something very foreign about that and Robin _really_ liked the taste of it.

"Yes…" he found himself agreeing with a gasp. He hadn't really meant to say it like _that_... but, then again… maybe he did… Part of him agreed, really, but part of him denied the thought vehemently. He let out a hard moan, throwing his head back as he felt Slade's hands slam over his hips, forcing the lithe body move faster. "What's the matter, old man?" He laughed between moans, "Can't take it?"

Slade, between his own raspy breaths let out a chuckle, "I'm not the one _taking it._"

Robin gave a venomous glance and then said with a smirk, "Take me then… You want me, right?"Slade gave a short laugh from under his mask but that hardly discouraged the hero. "Say it…"

"We already played this game, Robin," Slade tried to laugh but it only came out as a growl. "I've already won it."

The smirk on the hero's features widened, "New game, Slade." He pushed himself off the man's engorged cock and quickly rolled off the bed. Slade tried to grab him but, as the teen had landed on his feet, he was able to move away quickly.

The man growled and Robin pressed a button on the control, shutting down the nanobots.

"I'll go easy on you," the boy smiled as he looked out the large window at the city. "You don't have to _say_ it; I'll just let you _show_ it."

Slade chuckled as he drew in air, trying to even out his breathing. He considered stroking himself a bit, just to get the painful feeling to go away, but he decided that he would rather endure than admit _that sort _of defeat. He did notice a sudden flood of precome though; the bots were not designed to be shut on and off as Robin seemed to enjoy doing.

"If you _want_ me," Robin smiled, turning his head to give the man a backward glance as he placed his hands on the window and spread his legs just slightly, "_come take me_."

The hero was pleased to see that Slade actually did just that. He moved quickly, making Robin's heart beat and his body tense out of pure instinct. In hardly a second, the man was behind him, pressing his body against the naked teen as a hand snaked around and up to get a firm grip on the teen's chin.

"The city looks lovely tonight." Slade whispered lowly into Robin's ear.

"Mmm, ye- wait, what?" the teen stammered halfway through his sentence. What nonsense was that man talking about now? Robin felt a something hard and wet pressing into him and he decided that he didn't much care _what_ Slade was saying so long as he got back to fucking him.

"The city," he whispered again, making sure that his breath left small, ghostly sensations across the pale neck of his lover. "Do you know why I came here, Robin?"

"No idea," he answered truthfully. Suddenly his attention was _actually_ focused on what the man had to say, pity that the wonderful feeling of a hard dick moving slowly inside him was so distracting.

"Because I _want_ this city. Its money, its people, its resources…"

Robin gave a little snort and gazed out into the city lights. Slade was always very practical in his planning. He looked out over Jump then and part of him worried that someone might somehow see him somehow, naked and being fucked by the one of the worst men the city had ever known. It was probably impossible, though. The lights were off and they were too high from the street for anyone to get a good view. Of course, someone _could_ see in if they happened to be flying by, but how often did one meet- oh, Robin knew many people that could fly; hell, he lived with three of them!

"And I want you." Slade's voice ripped his side-tracked mind back into reality.

"What?" Robin asked, entirely unsure if he had heard correctly.

"I want you," the man repeated, pressing his clothed body against the teen while his hips moved in a slow rhythm. "Is it so shocking to hear it?"

"Wha…Yes!" the hero exclaimed, completely and utterly dumbstruck by the man's words. What kind of new game was this? What was Slade trying to do?

Slade gave deep, throaty chuckle than sent shivers and vibrations through the smaller body. "You're over-analyzing, Robin. I can hear the wheels turning in that head of yours. If I _want_ something, I'll _take_ it. It's really that simple." He thrust himself hard into the hero to emphasize his meaning, Robin understood perfectly.

"You can try," he chuckled back, pressing the control to activate the nanos once more and feeling the cock inside him swell just slightly. "But you can't have the city."

"But I can have you?" Slade asked in a dark purr, grabbing the boy's hips and starting a faster pace for thrusting.

"Only like this…" Robin breathed through a smirk as he pressed his palms harder against the glass, pushing his hips back to meet the man.

"Oh?" Slade gave a predatory sound and shoved the teen's body flush against the glass. "Nothing more?"

"No. Robin smirked. "_Nothing_ more."

Suddenly the teen froze when he felt Slade's fingers pinching his cheek, though, that wasn't what the man was really getting a hold of… pressed between his fingers was the very corner of Robin's mask.

"Slade…" Robin breathed, a question and a warning as the man used his other hand to unfasten his own mask and raise it just slightly.

"If I want it…" Slade whispered, his voice unhampered by the mask although it still concealed most of his face. "Then I'll have it." Robin waited in complete stillness, not daring to move for the fear that Slade would rip the mask away from his eyes. He was hardly sure if he was even breathing. Slade bent his head down and licked at the pale skin while his hips ground into Robin's, pressing the boy's body against the window and smearing more precome over the surface.

Robin let out a little gasp as the tongue drew back and was quickly replaced by teeth. The gasp soon melted into a pained moan as the teeth bit down and the mouth sucked hard on the teen's skin.

Slade smirked through his rough kiss, forcing his hard length deeper into the hero who, in his apprehension, was clenching quite nicely.

Robin nervously licked at his lips. What could he do? Slade had him pinned and he was holding his mask… He couldn't break free without losing the one true thing that kept his identity a secret. But he had to do something, didn't he? He couldn't just let Slade win like that… No, not like that… Not because of a dumb choice to sleep with the man…

"There," Slade's teeth released the boy's skin to reveal the beginnings of a very dark love bite. "I have you now." The man gave the teen a quick nip on the ear before pulling back entirely, releasing his grip on the mask in the process.

Robin took a breath while his mind analyzed the sudden freedom. Slade didn't take his mask? Why not? Didn't he want to know? Wasn't he driven to near insanity by the curiosity?! The teen turned to stare at the man as he crawled on the bed and flipped over, displaying his still very hard erection.

"Aren't you going to tell me to stop smirking?" Slade teased from behind his mask. Robin only stared. "I'm waiting."

"Why… didn't you…?"

"Having you for this and _nothing more_ has worked out well for me, I'd say." Slade informed him. "I want you like this; I see no reason to know who you are."

"But you don't… I mean…"

"The nanobots are still functioning, boy. I suggest you get over here."

"No… but…"

"I was nice enough to let you come- all over my window, in fact." Slade's voice was growing crueler but behind the mask was a small smile as Robin turned to the window in dismay to find that he _had_ come and, indeed, it was _dripping_ down the window. "Now get over here."

Robin, for reasons beyond his comprehension, did. But he wasn't done asking questions. He straddled the man and quickly sunk down on the hard cock with a groan before staring down into the gray eye.

"Why didn't you do it?" he asked venomously.

"A deal's a deal… unless you want to _negotiate_?"

"No," Robin answered sternly as he made his body ride the man slowly, "I don't. But you wanted to do it, right? Don't you want to know?"

"At the moment? No. This is enough," he traced his fingers over the tender kiss mark at the base of Robin's neck. "I realized long ago that I couldn't have you, Robin, not in the way that I wanted. But I'm satisfied with this… aren't you?"

The hero froze. Was he satisfied? The answer didn't come clearly for him. On one hand, he was _very_ satisfied. But on the other… he bit his lip. Slade _was_ a criminal, after all. Robin couldn't change that. He didn't even really want to… but maybe _he_ was the one changing… How long had it been since he'd stopped trying to find out the man's identity? That wasn't like him, that wasn't what _heroes_ did. He had given up... How could he be _satisfied_ with that?

"Yeah…" Robin lied, looking down at the man with a very earnest expression. "I mean, it's not built to last… but… I like having you like this."

"I see," Slade hummed, "And… how about like _this_?" Robin gasped as the room spun around him and he found himself on his back, the man's cock still filling him to the brink. He let out a hard moan in spite of his recent revelation and arched his back. Sure, he had resolutely decided that he _would_ break the contract, and therefore their relationship… But there was no reason he couldn't enjoy himself in the meantime, right?

He tried pushing that thought to the back of his mind as he let his fingers glide over the black portion of Slade's mask. "Let's use the blindfold," he said decidedly, wanting to block out the sight of his arch enemy as if he could deny the proof that he was doing something wrong.

"If you like," Slade chuckled, reaching for the bedside table and grabbing a role of cloth that had been waiting there.

Robin took a breath at the new found darkness after loosely tying the fabric around his eyes, and then he let his hands explore the man above him. "I think it's about time you took off your clothes," the teen said as he tugged at the black Kevlar suit.

"I agree," Slade replied, pulling out of the teen and stripping quickly.

Robin licked his lips when he heard a small sigh as the man dropped his mask over the side of the bed. He was close now… only a thin strip of fabric hid the truth… Maybe if he could remove it, he could see…

"Better?" Slade asked, grabbing one of Robin's hands and pressing it against his naked skin, moist from sweat but still with that faint smell of metal.

"Almost…" Robin smirked, feeling blindly at the buttons on the control and once more releasing hell with the nanos.

The man gave a predatory, albeit pained sound and quickly plunged into the hero. Robin groaned loudly and wrapped his hands around the man's neck, dragging him down for a fierce kiss.

"Better," he breathed before the man's mouth collided again with his own. He dug his hands into the soft white hair, pulling slightly as he lifted his hips to meet each of the man's fevered thrusts. "More."

"Always," Slade whispered back, a husky tone that was hardly more than a growl. The man gave a smirk at the frustrated blush that climbed over the boy's cheeks.

"Unng! Slade!" Robin gasped lifting one hand to clutch at the bed sheets just over his head, hoping the man wouldn't notice that with each thrust, the blindfold was very slowly coming undone. The teen lifted his head just enough to tease his lips against Slade's, earning a dark chuckle that went straight to his groin.

Was it possible that Slade knew what he was doing? Robin wondered this as he parted his lips very slowly and welcomed the man's tongue against his own. The blindfold was nearly undone… Robin could feel it loosening around his face, in no time it would be loose enough to see out of…

But was it worth it? His heart was racing. He could surely sneak just a little peek from under the cloth… Slade wouldn't know. But… if he did… what would happen?

Robin groaned as a large hand closed around his half-hard member and pumped in time with the hard strokes that were given to him.

It was dangerous. That alone should have told the hero how bad the idea was. But it wasn't fear of the man that made him stop. It was fear of losing the man and all that he could give him.

"Slade!" Robin cried out, his voice a desperate gasp as his hands clamped over the cloth, preventing it from moving any more. "The blindfold!"

"Hold it there." The man grunted back, grabbing hold of Robin's legs and thrusting in faster.

"But-"

"_Hold. It. There_." He repeated, "I'm not _done_ yet."

Robin bit his lip again, trying to hold back the tears he felt brimming in his eyes. What was _wrong_ with him?! _Why_ had he just _given up_ like that? He could have seen the man's face! He could have _known_!

"As soon as… you're done pouting…" Slade growled between breaths. "You might press the button… to let me _come_."

The hero bit his lip harder and, while holding the blindfold to his eyes with one hand, he grasped wildly for the remote, finding that a rather difficult task because his body kept shifting with each of Slade's thrusts.

Finally, his fingers closed around the device and he soon found the right button. He gave it a fervent push and then a hard moan when Slade thrust into him with a hard growl.

"Slade…" Robin found himself gasping as the man continued to move inside him. He held the blindfold tight against his eyes, wondering how in the hell the man was still going when the teen had shut down the nanos completely. He was probably trying to prove a point, Robin decided. Slade would prove once and for all that, no matter the circumstances, he was in control.

The hero in him scowled. Slade was in control. Always.

*

The man smirked down at the teen, watching his hand desperately pressing the blindfold over his eyes while his other hand grasped at the sheets above him. He loved the little look of defeat on the hero's lips as they trembled slightly with each needy breath.

"Kiss me," he heard the boy whisper in an almost broken voice. How could he refuse a sweet little plea like that?

*

Robin softly whimpered as the man's lips brushed against his own, letting the tip of Slade's tongue tease the inside his mouth just slightly. Fighting the sudden urge to pull back, the teen drove himself forward, deepening the kiss until it became almost painful as their tongues fought against each other, a last ditch effort by the hero to regain control.

Slade gave a low growl, thrust hard into the lithe body, and came. Robin made a desperate sound into the kiss, vaguely hearing the sheets ripping from where he held them as he was filled with an intense heat.

There was a brief moment where Slade's weight pressed down on top of him, but very soon the man groaned and rolled to the side, still breathing harshly but slowly regaining his composure.

Robin waited through the silence. He kept his hand over the blindfold and nervously chewed on his bottom lip, finding that it tasted a bit like Slade.

"You're still hard, I see," Slade purred, reaching over to trail his finger tips on the underside of Robin's erection.

Robin swallowed and nodded, feeling his erection grow even harder when a strong hand closed around it and began to pump it lightly.

"I admit…" Slade said offhandedly as his hand stroked the hero's erection. "I thought you were going to look."

Robin frowned, "I wanted to."

"But?"

"But…" Robin untangled one of his hands from the sheets and snuck it down to join Slade's hand as it moved firmly against his penis. He knew why he'd stopped himself from seeing, but the terrible truth behind his actions made him feel disappointed in himself. Was he a hero, or wasn't he?

"You don't want to give this up?"

Robin nodded. He hated to hear it, but it was the truth. He didn't want to give up their relationship, or whatever it was. Sex, mostly. There was the thrill and the heat that consumed him every time he faced the man between the sheets. He wasn't _ready_ to give that up.

"It's your choice, Robin, but I expect you to make it. All great men are decisive. Heroes and villains alike." He pulled his hand away and Robin felt him standing from the bed. "If you want to stay, to keep sleeping with me, then do it. Stick to our contract."

Robin held his breath as he heard Slade walk into the bathroom, leaving the door open and turning on the shower. The villain was giving him a choice… no… a challenge. The only question left was what to do.

He sat up and let the blindfold fall from his eyes, slowly turning towards the window to look outside at Jump City. The night was slowly fading, leading dark shadows crawling across the buildings that faced the apartment. Robin sighed. He knew what he was doing was wrong and he hated himself for it. But there was an unspoken need that was only fulfilled when he was with Slade. It wasn't love. Far from it. But he needed it all the same… the _hate_ and _aggression_… the feeling of the man's body pressed against him, _inside_ him…

He didn't want it… but he needed it.

He waited in silence until Slade returned from the bathroom, fully clothed and mask in place.

"Hey," Robin breathed, not turning from the window as he watched the sun climb slowly over the rooftops.

"Good morning," Slade replied, letting the response hang in the air as the tension grew.

The silence burdened him, so Robin turned his head and gave the man a serious look. "What will happen when we can't see each other?"

"Pardon?"

"We both know this can't last forever… So…"

"I hadn't really given that much thought," Slade said with a near chuckle. "There isn't _much_ we _can_ do, is there? And more importantly, this isn't the type of situation to fight for, once it's done, it's done."

Those words, to Robin's shock, were very irritating, "So, that's it then? No more of this?"

"I hardly said that," Slade countered, "I won't force you to go or to stay. The choice is yours." He let his gloved fingers brush against the tender bruise at the base of Robin's neck. "Even the marks I leave on your body will fade, if you want them to."

"I don't want them to…" the teen replied, feeling the bruise as well but pressing harder on the skin and letting a small twinge of pain run through him. "I don't want this to end."

Slade gave a fond smirk, "Then I will keep marking you. As often and as deeply as I can."

Robin smiled. It sounded like a threat, but it felt like a promise. It was wrong. Clearly. But he needed it. More than ever he needed the pain and the hate. He needed Slade. To what purpose, he wasn't sure. He only knew that he wasn't ready for it to end.

*

* * *

Ready or not, that was the end of that chapter. Hope you liked it! Remember to send LindenMae your thanks and happy thoughts!


	15. Chapter 15

Edit: Grrr... Fanfiction took out the asterisks that I use to separate sections. How troublesome! fixed now...

Chapter 15

I own natsing… natsing!

**This chapter is 23 pages!** This is because today is Kuro's 23rd birthday! She refers to herself in third person when gloating because she feels bad for drawing attention to herself. She'll stop now…

This is a chapter that I've wanted to write from the beginning. Anyone with hemophobia or trypanophobia should probably not read the fun bits of the story, as there will be blood and needles involved. Lots of blood and needles!

Also, because of my extreme tardiness in getting my writing done, this chapter has not yet been betad, so there will be mistakes.

Lastly, I hope to be publishing a little more frequently because summer is here, but May will be a busy time. I turn 23, take a trip to run a race dressed up is a cute Viking, celebrate Dameon-Grey's 24th Birthday, go to an Anime convention (soooo nerdy!), and then move out-of-state for the summer. I'll do my best to keep writing and updating, but please bear with me. Oh! You can't be mad at me! It's my Birfday! XD HA!

**Be sure to read the A/N at the bottom!** You need to vote on something!

* * *

"Good morning, friend!" Starfire greeted Robin as he walked through the door, hair wet but tangled. "You look tired. I have just discovered a tiny brown bean that-"

"Coffee? Yes, please." He responded, sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen island and placing a hand under his chin.

"Maybe you should get some sleep instead," Raven advised him from across the room, your aura is unstable."

"Robin, unstable? Nooo…" Beast Boy chuckled but a short glare from the teen shut him up quickly. Cranky Robin was back, damn the luck.

"Vitals seem okay to me," Cyborg commented after a quick look at the screen built into his arm. "Bacon?"

Robin took a piece and ate it gratefully. On top of being tired, he was actually quite famished, but he had decided to visit the nano-sweeper and take _another_ shower before visiting the rest of the Titans and then sleeping… maybe. It was more mental fatigue than anything, really, his body had plenty of energy.

"Here, Robin. Feast and be energized!" Starfire jovially told him as she passed him a bowl full of unground coffee beans mixed with what Robin could only assume was mustard.

"I'll… just… make a fresh pot of coffee…" Cyborg mumbled, setting aside his pan of frying eggs and turning towards the coffee-maker.

Robin wasn't paying attention, really, but he did notice the very subtle jolt as his friend moved.

Time flew by very quickly then, just as Cyborg made a surprised sound, Robin saw what his older teammate had seen. A Slade-bot was clinging to the side of Titans Tower and peering through the window!

Robin was the first to move, but it was a shot from Cyborg's cannon that made the first hit. The glass shattered at the top, raining down as the other Titans began to move, each scrambling desperately to capture the android as it tried to escape.

"Don't damage the memory bank!"Robin commanded as Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl and caught the bot before it fell to the ground. The leader of the Titans kicked at what remained of the window, exploiting the cracks that had been made by Cyborg's cannon and shattering the pane completely so that he could properly join the fight.

Beast Boy gave a roar and dropped the machine when it clawed at his thick and leathery toes, Starfire was the next to grab it, but it wiggled free soon enough and was captured in a dark energy wrapping, courtesy of Raven. It all seemed to be going well until the bot aimed at Beast Boy and shot something from its hand. Raven acted quickly to block the thing, whatever it was, from hitting the changeling, but in doing so, she also let the Robot fall.

"NO!" Robin growled, pulling out a grappling and firing at the robot's feet, which, really was a poor move on his part because, although he'd manage to secure the bot's feet, he hadn't secured a strong footing.

He scrambled for a small moment, and then was yanked out of the window quite fiercely before he pulled out another grapping and fired at the rooftop. Starfire was at his side before the grappling reached anything, but still there was a loud crash of metal hitting rock when the Sladebot smashed against the rocky foundation of the island.

"Fuck."

* * *

Robin glared at the pieces of the robot that lay strewn across his table. He'd managed to prevent it from escaping by using his grappling gun, but he'd also thrown off its trajectory, causing it to crash into the rocks in such a way that nearly obliterated it. But, despite the fact that the robot had been carried to his workroom in bags, Robin knew that this was not like ordinary Slade-bots. It had been altered in a very unusual way.

He turned his attention to the thin ribbon that was strewn over the many pieces. The Slade-bot had a _fucking video_ _camera_ inside it. A _non-digital_ camera, to be precise.

"_Fuck_…" he whispered, bowing his head and leaning against the table as he tried to keep his temper from exploding. Slade had some explaining to do. The hero snapped his head up, marched to the door, and locked it before pulling out his _other_ communicator and waiting.

"Robin…" Slade's mask came into view after a small moment.

"You're _spying_ on me?" Robin spat, his voice somewhere between confusion and livid aggression.

"Is that a question, or a statement?" Slade asked.

"What do _you_ think?"

"I think you're mistaken."

"Your robot was the one that made the mistake," Robin growled, grabbing the film and holding it up to the screen. "Care to explain this?"

"Ferric-oxide tape? From a video camera?" Slade scoffed. "Why on earth would… Oh… I see… To bypass the scrambler… And it was on one of_ my_ robots?"

"You know damn well that…" Robin suddenly wanted to smack his forehead. Or kick through a wall. Either would do, really, so long as he got to hit something_ other_ than a red herring. He hadn't even considered that the robot might have been one of the stolen ones. He swallowed his anger and humiliation in one large gulp. "You didn't send it?"

"Of course not," Slade answered matter-of-factly. "But, tell me. Was all the film destroyed?"

Robin nodded. "The only surviving tape was blank."

"And what of the A.I. commands?"

"The whole thing is in pieces."

"Pity. I'd have liked to have known what it was after."

"It was spying. It obviously wanted information."

"But what _about_?" Slade asked in a low purr. "Was it spying on the Titans… or just… you?"

Robin felt the weight of that question hit his gut like cold water. Was he being watched? If so, by whom? And how much did they know? They knew he carried a scrambler, obviously. No one would resort to old-fashioned spy cameras unless they needed to.

"Before you start to panic," Slade interrupted, "I should like to inform you that the apartment windows are Mirropane. No one can see in unless we want them to."

Robin took a short breath and gave a small sigh. That was a relief. He knew from countless investigations how two-way mirrors worked, and that anyone relying on a simple camera couldn't see through the glass unless the light inside was kept very bright, which it never was when he was there. No wonder Slade never seemed concerned with being spotted.

"So you _do_ think it's spying on me, then?" Robin asked, feeling his stomach grow colder.

"It's a distinct possibility," the man answered. "But it's also possible that it might be after your team. Although… That doesn't really explain the camera, does it? How often do you wear your scrambler?"

"I don't usually have it turned on…" Robin answered. "At least, not when I'm with the team."

Slade made a sound, allowing the teen to fill in the blanks for himself.

"This is bad." Robin growled.

"I think it's time to increase our security," Slade began, noting the thinning of Robin's lips. "Or is this perhaps an opportunity to stop _visiting?_ Of course I'll understand if you take it. The stakes have been raised; it might not be worth the risk."

"Oh, shut it." Robin told him, but there was no bite to the words. "I'm just thinking about how quickly I can build a new scrambler. We should keep one on at the studio, just in case."

Slade gave a small smirk. "Let me know when you have it, you can bring it with you the next time."

"Right…" the hero mumbled, not particularly thrilled that he was to literally hand over a very effective machine to his arch villain. Well, it wasn't the first thing he had sacrificed for the sake of his libido, but hopefully it was the last. "I'll let you know."

"Be careful," Slade told him, his voice calm and smooth. "Tell me if you find another one."

Robin bit back a growl. He hated hearing that, _especially_ from Slade. "I can handle it."

He closed the communicator deftly and glared at the bits of robot all over the table. Whether it was a sentimental expression or a precautionary warning, Robin wasn't sure. He also didn't care. He wasn't a child. _He could handle himself_. Why was it that his elders never seemed to agree?

* * *

Slade chuckled as he closed his communicator as well. It was a cheap joke, but also a bargain. Robin was too easy to pester for his own good.

* * *

"Anything?" Cyborg asked their leader as he wandered into the kitchen area for another cup of coffee, his fourth that day. Beast boy looked like he was about to say something, but Raven quickly slapped her hand over his mouth and shook her head. Robin noticed, and silently thanked her for that.

"Nothing," Robin's voice was tired but far from broken.

"I can't believe Slade is spying on us! That's just… just creepy!" the half robot commented, shivering slightly for dramatic effect.

"Is it not worse than creepy?" Starfire chimed in as she gave her squishy pet a plate of strange pink berries. "Perhaps Slade is up to something unpleasant."

They looked to Robin for answers, but the teen was gazing at the shattered window absentmindedly. It _was_ possible that _Slade_ was the one spying on him. He couldn't afford to rule out that possibility. And that meant that he needed to think carefully if he was to give the man a digital frequency scrambler. He was walking a tightrope between preventing a mishap and causing one.

He let out a low sigh and turned to find his teammates staring at him.

"Dude…" Beast Boy began, dodging Raven's hand as it again moved to shut him up. "You look like last year's tofu! Take a nap!"

* * *

Robin, for perhaps the first time ever, followed Beast Boy's advice, although it wasn't really intentional. He fell asleep on his work.

* * *

"Should we wake not wake him?"

Robin heard Starfire whispering just outside the workroom and his eyelids fluttered groggily.

"Nah. The dude needs some serious shut-eye. We'll save him some pizza. Don't worry."

"But it is customary to sleep on the padded beds. And blankets! They are needed too."

"I'm fine." Robin spoke, lifting his head and rubbing the numb side of his face that had been pressed against the table. "Just taking a cat-nap."

"Dear friend, you are confused. Being a Robin, you would take a _bird_-nap. I insist that you sleep in a bed until you are rested enough not to be confused. Raven has said that-"

"I'm fine, Star. It's just an expression." The hero stretched and gave a quick glance over his half-completed scramble, feeling a small wave of guilt.

"I told you two not to bother him," Raven monotoned as she entered the room as well, casting the alien and the changeling a dark look. "He needs rest."

"I'm fine, really." Robin gave a little laugh. "You guys are worried over nothing."

Raven shrugged and turned. "Cyborg started the movie, if you want to come watch with us."

"He's started it?" Starfire gasped

"Without _us_?" Beast Boy's voice was in near panic. "_DUDE_!"

Raven stepped aside and let her teammates rush by, eager to see the newest movie in their collection.

"I'll sit this one out, if that's alright. I'm working on a new gadget." Robin said, picking up his tools and tinkering with the device.

"You need a break," Raven spoke quietly, turning to give the leader of the Titans a serious look. "Your aura is unstable."

"_Still_?" Robin couldn't help but chuckle. "Maybe I should have that looked at."

"Maybe you should…" the pale girl replied. "I could do it… if you wanted."

"Nah." Robin shrugged, feeling his heart race a bit at the girl's sudden interest in his aura, "You go watch the movie. I'll be fine."

Raven stood very still for a moment, as though trying to decide what to say. "I'm here to talk, if you need me." She finally said. "I don't know what's making you so upset, or if I can do anything to help… but I want you to know that I'm here."

Robin looked up from his work and took in Raven's expression. It was hard, but sincere. She meant what she said. "Thank you, Rae… I'll keep that in mind."

She gave a solemn nod and turned for the hallway, pressing the button that made the door slide back into place.

Robin stared at the door and gave a small sigh. What the hell was he doing? He glared at the pieces of the new scrambler and thought of Slade. No wonder his aura, or whatever, was unstable. His mind was a mess.

He rubbed the back of his neck and cursed. Why couldn't he just punch out his problems like he punched criminals? It would certainly make things much easier. He'd start with the biggest problem of all: Slade. Robin felt an immediate rush of blood to his groin and he growled. Now there was one problem that he _could_ punch away, but lord would _that_ ever hurt.

He laughed in spite of his situation and began working on the device again. Having something to partially distract him usually let Robin do his best thinking, and he _really_ did need to do some thinking.

However, no more than five minutes later, Robin threw down his screwdriver and marched to the door.

So what if he didn't trust Slade? The man was a fantastic fuck. So what if he was being spied on? Criminals would rather blackmail him than rat him out, and years spent with the famous Bruce Wayne taught him how to deal with those. And so what if Raven was getting suspicious? That didn't mean she _knew_.

Robin pushed all those thoughts aside. Life would always provide opportunities for worry, so he could afford to put it off for awhile. Instead, he would spend a nice night with his friends. No Slade, no spying, no worries. God help any criminal that tried to stir up trouble.

Beast Boy squealed as the door opened, making Cyborg laugh, Raven smirk, and leaving Starfire with a confused look on her face.

"Hey man, come join us," Cyborg motioned to the hero. "BB's gonna wet the couch, but it's big, there's room."

"Thanks," Robin said, grabbing a slice of pizza from the counter and moving towards the couch.

"Oh, joyous!" Starfire proclaimed. "May I partake of the hair braiding?"

"Just no bows this time," Robin warned with a smile.

He sat on the floor, letting Starfire brush out his hair and remembering the first time he allowed her to '_style'_ it. He smiled at the memory, even the part where she singed half of it off. Perhaps it was in his nature to learn most lessons the hard way.

* * *

"Correct, as usual." Slade told him through the communicator and Robin stepped out of the elevator into the brightened studio. "Maybe I need to make those questions a bit harder…" Robin smirked, It felt slightly odd to enter the room during the day time, considering that he usually left during that time. "Nice hair, by the way," Slade said, running his fingers down the thick black braid as the teen set down the bag he was carrying.

Robin ignored his comment and pulled out the new scrambler. "This will disrupt any signal within three blocks. Well, _aside_ from our communicators."

"Interesting," Slade murmured, "But I've been thinking… We should disable the outgoing signals only."

"What? Why?"

"If we are being watched, as we both seem to think, it might be more proactive to allow new signals to come in. That way we can monitor them and possibly trace them back to whoever is _controlling_ them."

"Oh, I'm _so_ glad I stayed up late building this, then," the teen huffed. "You're on your own if you want to allow more signals in. I don't have time for that."

"It will probably keep the crime-rates down also," Slade said nonchalantly, making Robin's ears perk. The teen turned, giving the man a questioning look until he continued. "I realized the other day that your scrambler interrupts digital satellite signals."

"Yes? And?"

"And this includes satellite _television_." There was a definite hint of amusement in the man's voice. "Apparently there has been an increase in graffiti and other petty crimes when you visit. Though, only in this area."

"Shit. Really?" Robin scowled. He had to admit that he hadn't thought about that. He'd only made sure that it allowed his communicators to work. Stupid kids, why didn't they just watch a movie or read a damn book? "Well, we can't have that, can we?" Robin sighed. "I'll see about getting it cleaned up."

"In the meantime, I'll rework this scrambler." Slade said as he moved the device to the computer and began to lift the metal faceplate. The man took a moment to study the inside, before attaching several cords to the device and then turning to his computer. "Impressive programming."

Robin recognized the compliment and his jaw tightened, "Just don't let me find it in the next line of Slade-bots."

"Are you trying to imply something?" the villain asked innocently, staring at the data that was whizzing across the screen.

"I'm sticking to the contract, Slade." Robin felt his gut twisting as he spoke. "Can I expect the same from you?"

"You have my word," Slade told him, and then added with an audible smirk, "whatever _that's_ worth."

"I'm serious," Robin leered. "I never would have given this to you unless-"

"Unless you were getting something back?" Slade's voice was silk as he turned away from the computer to let his dark eye wander over Robin's body. "Likewise."

The teen turned for the elevator and gave a short huff. "I still don't like it."

"Leaving so soon?" the man asked, making Robin jump slightly because the voice came from a body that was right behind him, not from across the room as he had thought.

"I have to patrol." Robin said bluntly, giving a suggestive shrug that was not nearly strong enough to actually push the man away.

"Want to reconsider?" Slade purred, making sure that his breath was tickling over the teen's neck as his hand moved between the hero's thighs.

"Love to," Robin replied. "But can't." He moved swiftly out of the man's hold and into the elevator as the doors opened. "Maybe next time."

"Are you really going to patrol with a hard on?" Slade mused as he leaned against the elevator door, holding it open.

"Seems like it," Robin smirked back. He knew full well that the fact Slade couldn't _see_ his erection while he was wearing a cup didn't prevent him from _knowing_ it was there.

"Not even a kiss good-bye?"

Robin was about to reject the man's advances but decided he would rather do something _else_ instead. "Alright." He said, moving closer to the man and cursing his hormones as his pants felt increasingly too small, "Blindfold?"

"This will do." The villain soothed, lifting the thick braid and coiling it around Robin's eyes. He secured it in a very loose knot and then removed his own two-toned mask, noting the little smirk on the hero's lips and absently wondering what he was suddenly so giddy about.

Robin waited in the dark, lips wet and slightly parted, eager for the taste of blood and metal that could only belong to Slade. He moaned just slightly when a large hand gently grasped his chin, tilting it upward until, with an equally satisfied sound, Slade's mouth claimed his lips. It was a hard and possessive kiss, but Slade delivered it very slowly, allowing the teen match each movement and flicker of the tongue.

Robin felt a smirk from the man as his large hands slowly began to crawl up the sides of the lithe body, only to change directions and then very slowly descend down his back, fingers trailing the delicious little indent of his spine until they reached his ass. The hero gave an encouraging little groan as the hands squeezed and pulled his body closer. Slade was slyly positioning a thick leg between his own two while surreptitiously guiding the teen back into the room.

But Robin was expecting this from Slade and he had already decided that he needed to patrol. His lips twisted up into the grin he could no longer contain as he swiftly planted one leg in the elevator, positioned his other foot just behind Slade's ankles, and then gave the larger man a very hard shove, sending him back into the apartment with a loud thud.

"Later, Slade." Robin teased, turning his back and undoing the makeshift blindfold before he blindly reached for the button that closed the elevator doors.

Oh, that was one small victory that he could enjoy for a long, long time.

* * *

Slade was sure that he heard a light chuckle as the braid fell back into place just above that perfect ass and the elevator doors closed. He gave a rough little laugh himself and pushed himself off the floor.

"That's my boy."

* * *

Twelve days later, Robin was enjoying some late-night training with his teammates when he felt a very short vibration coming from his belt. He smiled unconsciously and was nearly hit by a large ball of socks and various other clothing items.

"I thought I said no stankball," he called to the green changeling.

"It's Cyborg's fault!" Beast Boy replied with a snigger. "He ducked."

"All the same," Robin told him with a smile, letting him know that he would play along- but only to a point. "It better be in the hamper by the time I get back."

"Oh, are you going to the throne-room?" Starfire asked.

"Restroom, Star." Robin corrected her as he walked for the door.

"But Cyborg has called it the Pooty-Palace. Palaces have thrones, do they not?"

"Well… Er." Robin felt another short vibration from his belt. "Raven, do you mind taking this one? I gotta go."

"There's not enough time in the world to explain slang-words," The dark haired girl mumbled but then turned to the alien and began to try and explain things.

Once out of sight, Robin rushed to the bathroom and quickly pulled out his communicator.

"Busy?" Slade asked him.

Robin felt of sudden rush of blood to his groin and wished that the man was there to push him up against the bathroom wall. After nearly two weeks of more failed orgasms and some interesting lies when one of his vibrators decided to turn itself on and hum against the wall for an hour, Robin was ready for a visit.

"Training," he replied nonchalantly. "And you?"

Slade mused. "Actually, I was thinking about fucking you. So yes, I've been a little busy."

"Then why don't we skip the small-talk and arrange a meeting?" Robin's hand drifted down between his legs, stroking his inner thigh and gently pressing against the athletic cup.

"Are you that hard-up?"

"Something's certainly hard," Robin mumbled. "Give me an hour and I'll head over."

"Make it a half-hour."

"No promises," the teen smirked and closed the communicator.

* * *

"Seriously? A question? _Now?_" Robin asked through a clenched jaw as the elevator stopped at Slade's floor but the doors did not open. "Do you realize how ready I am to fuck?"

"It amuses me," was Slade's reply. "And it's your fault for taking too long to get here."

The teen scowled and mulled the question over in his mind before finally answering, "Birthday censorship cupcake."

"Correct." Slade smiled under his mask as the doors opened, letting a very impatient bird inside the room.

"Alright," Robin walked in and immediately began to peel off his shirt. "Where is the blindfo- Wha- what the hell is _that_?"

"Tonight's activity."

Robin looked to the long clear tube that was attached to a liter-sized bag and his eyes widened. "Slade…"

The man chuckled and snuck a hand around the boy's waist, "You do know what blood-play is, don't you?"

"Blood-play?" Robin nearly shivered, unsure if it was from fear or anticipation.

Slade made a gentle confirming sound as he pulled off one of Robin's gloves and very quickly pricked the tip of his ring finger, making the teen yank back his hand in surprise.

"Hold still," The villain commanded, grabbing the boy's hand and holding up a device to the small blood drop that was forming.

"I hate anemia tests," Robin growled. "Worst part about donating."

"Done this before, have you?"

"Yeah. For a charity benefit awhile back." Robin watched as the man pulled the device away and studied it briefly.

"Well, we're going to do things a bit differently. You can start by taking off your clothes."

"Ooh, I _like_ this version," Robin hummed melodically as he pulled his shirt over his head and began working on his belt.

"That's good, I-" Slade said as he lifted his head from the anemia test and turned to the fully-naked hero. A smirk formed behind his mask as Robin placed a hand on his hip and cocked his head to the side, obviously waiting. "You don't waste time, do you?"

"Not when I'm horny, no." Robin sauntered over to the man and ran his fingers over the broad chest. "Now let's take care of _your_ clothes."

"I'm happy to see that you're so eager, Robin." Slade began as the teen very quickly undid the man's pants. "But I'm not going to spare you the needle, so trying to distract me won't help."

"No?" the teen pulled out the man's half hard length and quickly knelt down before him. "Can't blame me for trying, can you?"

Slade felt his member twitch and harden in the boy's grasp as a pair of soft lips pressed over the head. Blaming him for trying suddenly became a little more difficult.

Robin allowed himself a small smile as his tongue darted out to tickle against the man's slit, teasing and wiggling at the small bead of precome. He wasted no time in lifting his hand to play with the large set of testicles hanging there like his own personal play-thing. He smiled at that thought and made a mental note to never actually _call_ them that to Slade's face.

The man gave a small appreciative sound and widened his stance a bit, letting the curious fingers explore a little more thoroughly as they played over the sac and trailed behind them to rub very coyly at the villain's perineum.

Robin pulled back just enough to make sure that the dark eye was watching him before he smirked and took the entire length into his mouth with a loud and satisfied groan.

Slade gave a smirk of his own. Robin gave some very convincing arguments, but he couldn't argue his way out of the villain's plans.

Robin gave a small pout as the man pulled back and motioned to the bed.

"We'll fuck _after_ we play."

The pout turned into a little scowl, "Men aren't supposed to like foreplay."

"Since when did I ever follow the rules?" Slade chuckled. "Now get on the bed like a good boy and let me stab you a bit."

"Well, when you put it _that_ way," Robin rolled his eyes but complied anyway, sitting at the edge of the bed and leaning back on the pillows that were obviously placed there for a reason. He crossed his legs and did his best to cast the man a thoroughly disgruntled look.

Slade eyed the teen, noting the boy's hard erection and the fact that he refrained from touching it. Such a good boy.

The villain gave a little hum as he reached over to the pile of goodies and pulled out a tourniquet. Robin eyed the thing suspiciously, but offered his arm as the man drew closer.

"No, no, Robin," Slade purred. "Spread your legs."

"W…what?" The teen's eyes widened slightly behind the mask.

"Your legs. Spread them." Slade commanded.

"Just where are you- Ahh!" Robin gasped as a pair of strong hands pried his legs apart and slid the tourniquet just under his hip.

Slade admired his work for a brief moment before turning his attention to the very hard member.

"Maybe we _should_ skip the foreplay," Slade said absentmindedly, trailing a finger up the boy's penis while his eye kept track of the thickening blue veins on the hero's inner thigh.

"You could just tell me to flex my leg," Robin growled. "No need to be sneaky about it."

"Clever as always," the man replied with a chuckle, running his fingers over the progressively more visible femoral artery before reaching back over and grabbing the tubing.

Robin watched Slade peel back the sterilized paper covering of the needle and his heart began to beat a bit faster.

"Aren't you going to blindfold me?" Robin asked impatiently, a fairly terrible cover-up for his apprehension.

"Of course not," came his answer as Slade's eye captured Robin in a hard stare. "I want you to watch when I put it in."

Robin felt his body tense as Slade very slowly positioned the needle.

"Relax," came a voice that made the teen warm and slightly dizzy. The villain moved his attention back to the boy's thigh, glancing up just enough to see Robin biting his lips in a worried expression.

Robin gasped as he felt the vicious pinch and then a light stinging in his leg. He had looked away at the last moment; but once the pain began, he felt that he simply _had_ to look. His eyes trailed over the tubing, watching as the thick red swam through and slowly began to fill up the plastic bag at the end.

Slade calmly taped the tube against the boy's leg, undid the tourniquet, and then reached for his final device, the nearly forgotten blindfold. Robin took the cloth and wearily and tied it around his eyes, thinking (quite incorrectly) that he could block out the stinging sensation if he blocked out the sight.

Wasting no time, Slade pulled off his mask. The villain relished the meek little sound that Robin made as his large hand wrapped around the boy's penis and gave it a gentle squeeze. With a light smirk, he leaned forward and drew his tongue up the shaft, languidly rolling it over the hard surface until he reached the top and sampled a bit of the teen's precome.

"Unn… Yes…" Robin mumbled, sinking down into the pillows and clenching his fists into the padding.

Slade gave a rough laugh, tickling the boy's length with the vibrations and causing him to leak more.

"Like that?" he asked, sliding his hand over the erection while his lips played on the underside of the boy's cock. "Want more?"

"No, I want you to stop so I can go home and get some sleep," Robin deadpanned.

"Now, now." Slade soothed melodically, pulling his hands away. "No need for sarcasm."

Robin heard the snapping of latex and he cocked a brow under his blindfold. He was on the verge of saying something when the hands returned, gloved this time, unmistakably lubricated on one hand.

"I think maybe you have a doctor fetish," Robin laughed, more to himself than to Slade.

"Just a precaution," the villain replied serenely as he prepared a small metal rod. "Safety is my middle name."

"Ah, ah. No giving away personal info-ahh!" The teen tensed up as Slade pushed the sound inside his shaft. It was lubricated, but he hadn't played with any of _those_ toys for over a week, so it felt larger than usual.

"Now hold still. If you tense like that you'll bruise up your leg." The man said, soothing his fingers down the teen's leg as if he were petting a damned housecat. He then checked that the needle was still in its proper place.

"You could have warned me, at least." Robin protested. "It's not like I can _see_ it coming."

"Right…" something in the villain's tone made Robin weary. "I'll just have to _narrate_ everything, then." The teen rolled his eyes as Slade began to do just that. "First I'll start by rubbing your opening…" Robin fought a blush as a lubricated finger began to circle his anus, almost tickling across the surface and just barely edging inside. "But let's not forget your penis…" Slade hummed, gliding his other hand over the teen's hard length and rubbing a finger into the slit, smearing precome over the surface. "And now I'm going to put a finger inside you… Better make that _two_ fingers."

Robin swallowed the gasp that tried to escape his lips. Somehow, hearing Slade's voice describing what he was doing made the situation all the more taboo, and therefore, all the more fun.

"Oh, it's twitching." Slade teased as he pumped the hard member in his hands, "You like being fucked by my fingers, don't you?"

Robin gave a short mewling sound but quickly regained his composure and countered, "Oh, just do me already."

"Patience, Robin. You'll get it in the end."

"Oh, lord. No puns, please. My heart can't take it."

"It's not your _heart_ I'm after," Slade gave a rough laugh before moving his mouth over the teen's cock once again. Robin groaned and pushed his hand into the man's thick hair, less than subtly trying to get him to take on the entire thing.

Rather than comply, the man forced his fingers deeper inside the teen, grazing against his prostate and causing him to jolt.

"Hold _still_." Slade told him again, actually daring to pull his mouth away and push his hand flat against the teen's stomach. "You never learn, do you?"

"Obviously not," Robin sniggered, taking a moment to stroke himself languidly. He leaned back against the pillows and took a deep breath, realizing then that he was feeling a little light headed.

Slade noticed the slight swooning and glanced down at the bag, which was quickly becoming full. "Good news, then. You're almost done."

"That was quick," Robin mumbled, sitting up slightly until he was pushed back down by a strong hand.

"Lay back for a bit. I'm going to pull the needle out."

The teen gave a little snort but held still, listening intently to Slade's movements. He chewed lightly on his bottom lip as the man removed the latex gloves and moved his hands back over to the embedded needle.

Slade heard a slight gasp as he tugged away the needle and quickly pressed a piece of cotton over the spurting wound. He reached up and grabbed Robin's hand, pulling it down and pressing it against the cotton. "Hold," he said and the teen obeyed, pressing it hard against the little cut as if it would try to shoot across the room at any moment. "This too."

Robin felt something warm plop down on his lap. It took him a moment to realize that it was the medical bag, warmed by his own blood, that was resting on him. The thought made him slightly queasy, but the curiosity kept his attention there. He hadn't expected the bag to be so warm…

Slade pulled off the needled tip and held the tubing up to Robin's lips. "Suck," he commanded and the hero very timidly opened his mouth and explored the tip of the tubing, smearing the taste of blood over his tongue.

Robin gave the man a doubtful look behind the blindfold, but Slade only pushed the tubing further inside his mouth and repeated the command. His lips closed around the tube and he sucked in the thick liquid, wrinkling his nose at the full bodied taste of his own blood.

"Now swallow."

Robin made a disapproving sound but Slade's hand very gently stroked over his aching cock, as if to sooth him.

Swallow," he repeated with a gentler tone.

It took more will power than Robin thought it would to swallow. Sure, he had tasted blood before, _plenty_ of times. But that was just a taste. He always spit out anything that began to fill his mouth. He screwed up his courage, wrinkled his nose, and swallowed the blood with a hard gulp. Once the blood was down, he opened his mouth and gasped, leaving him open for an attack from the older man.

Robin let out a pretty moan and nearly melted against the man's tongue. He could feel Slade's smile against his lips, something that should have bothered him more than it did, but the rough hand that began to stroke him helped him forget that little fact quite efficiently. He took a deep breath as Slade began to move his kisses downward, trailing the teen's jaw, licking at his neck and nipping at his collarbone. By the time the hot tongue reached his nipples, Robin was panting and feeling dizzy. It was a bit like being drunk. Robin could feel the sensations and hear the sounds he was making, but it all seemed so distant and surreal.

He arched his back into the hot kiss, letting Slade's teeth tease against his nipples until they became pink and tender. Slade pulled back slightly and blew a thin stream of air over his chest, watching the little buds peak at the coolness.

"You have very cute nipples," Slade told him, moving his hand over the teen's cock with a bit more fervor. "They would look even better pierced."

"Let's do it, then" Robin hummed. Maybe it was the hand on his cock or the fact that he had a bag of his own blood resting on top of him, but the teen felt especially daring. He would probably regret it in the morning, like a bad hangover, but somehow the idea of piercings seemed incredibly erotic. It was just too good of an idea to brush off lightly. "I'm serious, let's do it. I'm sure you just _happen_ to have the tools for it."

"I do, actually. Yes." Slade chuckled. "But are you sure-"

"Do it before I realize how stupid I'm being," the hero said impatiently.

Slade stood with a laugh and moved over to a certain drawer across the apartment. He opened it and rummaged shortly until he found a very unassuming gray plastic case.

"Now you _really_ need to hold still for this one," he warned the boy as he pulled out the stainless steel supplies and quickly wiped the boy's nipples with rubbing alcohol. "You'll feel a little clamp. I'm going to use the pliers."

Robin nodded, groaning just a little as he felt a hard pinching over his nipples. He heard latex being stretched again and soon felt Slade's gloved hands return to his chest, prodding slightly and then holding very steady.

"Oh, God…" Robin moaned as the needle slid cleanly through his nipple. He felt a gentle pat on his hand and realized that he'd reached out and was clutching harshly at Slade's shoulder.

"Too much?" Slade asked innocently, ghosting his finders around the new piercing after corking the sharp end. "Or should we pierce the right one as well?"

"Keep going…" Robin gasped, reaching between his legs and grasping the base of his penis, trying not to come.

The villain smirked and removed the pliers before securing them to the other nipple. Robin held his breath as Slade's hands were once again upon him, holding very steady as he plunged the needle through the small bit of skin, making the hero growl and bite his tongue.

At a leisurely pace, Slade prepared the actual jewelry and slid it into place just behind the needle.

Robin winced and whimpered, feeling the dull aching sting as his adrenaline began to wear off. Slade was touching them gently, but the teen felt each and every little tug as the man worked.

As he secured the last ball into place, completing the piercing process, a devious smile appeared on his features, "Alright, now we're going to put the _real_ needles through."

"_WHAT?_"

"Only a joke, only a joke." Slade defended, planting a very light kiss over each of his nipples. "You've been such a good sport."

"I ought to punch you," the hero growled, moving his hands up to feel the metal piercings, but Slade quickly grabbed his wrists.

"No touching yet," he scolded. "They need to heal."

"Oh, fine. _Distract_ me, then."

"I'm sure that could be arranged," Slade answered heatedly as he let his attention drift back down to between the boy's legs. He frowned when he spotted the thin line of blood that trickled down from the small needle-mark, it seemed that the hero's distraction had already begun, as he had clearly forgotten to hold the cotton to the wound. "What a mess you've made," Slade tsked, guiding Robin's hand down to the wound and letting his fingers smear the red liquid. "I suppose you expect me to clean it up, don't you?"

"Well, I wouldn't _mind_," Robin replied, feeling a slight flutter in his chest as Slade opened his mouth sucked in the bloody fingers before turning his attention to the wound and licking it clean.

The teen felt a gauze wrap wind tightly around his leg, and, after a gentle pat from Slade's hand, he felt a pair of fingers sliding up inside him. Robin moaned as the fingers twisted and spread inside him, pressing against his prostate while a very warm mouth closed around his erection and sucked without restraint.

"Aah! Nn.. Stop!" Robin pleaded, pushing on the man's shoulders until he pulled away with a bewildered look. "I'll come…" the hero gasped, a faint but clear blush on his cheeks.

"And that's a problem… why?" Slade asked, wiggling his fingers against the teen's prostate.

"I…" Robin felt the meekness in his voice and he tried to adjust it to a more demanding tone. "I want to come with you inside me."

"Who can resist a pretty little plea like that?" he asked, lifting the smaller body and carrying it to the head of the large bed and ignoring Robin's indignant scowl. Slade centered himself on the headboard, his clothed back pressing against the wood while he positioned the teen to straddle his hips.

"Take off your clothes," Robin purred, making sure there was not even a hint of modesty in his voice that time, "I want to feel you when we fuck."

"I must remember to thank whoever taught you such foul language," Slade joked as he pulled his shirt over his head while Robin helped him remove his pants.

Robin smirked when his hands came into contact with the raw heat from Slade's body. _Much_ better. He leaned in closely and ran his tongue up the man's chest, pausing just a bit at the man's nipples to nip and suck at them in a very poor form of retaliation for the pain he had experienced earlier.

When Robin finally reached the man's lips, he was panting for air, but that didn't stop him from initiating a very aggressive kiss which Slade couldn't help but answer. The hero moaned into the kiss as Slade's hands guided him very intently over his large and weeping cock. Robin broke away from the kiss with a sharp inhale and then lowered himself slowly, finding that Slade had already prepared himself with lube.

He threw his head back and cried out as he took in the mass, feeling himself stretching to the brink and loving each little moment. Once filled to the brink, Robin let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding and blindly leaned forward until he found Slade's lips. He reveled in the feeling of the villain's tongue against his own as he slowly created a rhythm for his hips.

"God… so… good…" he gasped, picking up speed as he held desperately to the man's shoulders. He was feeling more light-headed but he was also very close to orgasm, he didn't want to stop. He growled into the man's neck as Slade reached between them with a lubed hand and began pumping. He began to wobble slightly as he moved, gasping for breath as his mind began to slip into darkness.

Slade smiled at the writing teen bouncing on his cock and leaned into whisper into his ear.

"_Come._"

Robin cried out harshly, nearly falling backwards as he came hard over the muscular hand and stomach of the man. Slade's hands, which had kept him from falling, pulled him back into place, but Robin could only lean his head against the man's shoulder and fight for breath.

"D… diz…zy…" Robin gasped, his body shaking.

"Feeling sick?" Slade asked, lifting the teen off his hard length and placing him on the mattress next to him and placing a heavy hand over his forehead.

Robin shook his head and grasped blindly for the man's arms, trying to keep him still while the world seemed to spin.

Slade lifted his head and brought a bottle to his lips, Robin jerked away at first, but then he slowly turned back and opened his mouth when he realized it was only a sort of flavored beverage.

"Good boy," Slade soothed, "Drink more."

Robin groaned as he drank in more of the liquid. It tasted like an artificial grape and seemed to be slightly carbonated. He took in a deep breath as the water was pulled away and Slade wiped at his chin with the sheets. The hero couldn't help but giggle inwardly at this. _Slade_ was playing _mommy_.

"What's so funny?" Slade asked, clearly amused by the situation as well.

Robin hadn't realized that he'd laughed out loud, but he covered it beautifully by snuggling closer and searching the body before him. The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile when he found the very hard shaft; he wrapped his fingers around it, whispering, "I don't think we're done yet…"

"We might have to be for now," Slade told him, gently pushing away the eager hand. "We'll continue after a bit of rest.

"No," Robin said very plainly, sitting up and straddling the man quickly, hoping that the villain would ignore the fact that he was swaying lightly. "You're going to fuck me. Now."

"Your logic is infallible," Slade rolled his eye, "But I must insist that-"

Robin groaned as he sank down on the thick shaft and clenched gently. "Umhmm. Keep talking…" the teen moaned. "I'm listening."

Slade laughed. _Clearly_, the hero was _not_ listening. Instead, he was trying to build up his half-half hard length by making use the villain's fully hard one.

"Ooh," Robin breathed into the villain's ear, a blatant attempt to manipulate him that only became more obvious as he began speaking. "You're so _hard_… so _big_… more!"

"Just how thick do you think I am?" Slade laughed at Robin's antics, but the teen wouldn't be phased.

"Pretty- ungh!- thick." The teen replied, breathing a bit more heavily as his fatigue and anemia caught up to him. "C… come Slade… Fuck me…"

"If you throw up on me, I'll kick you out," Slade warned, flipping the lithe body onto the mattress and thrusting into him.

Robin groaned and nodded, a smile on his lips as he felt the thick cock sliding inside him with much more force. He was hard again. It seemed his body much preferred his lower head because that's where the most blood seemed to be traveling. Robin sniggered as the thought passed through his fuzzy mind as he mustered up the strength to wrap his legs around the man's hips as he pounded into him without mercy.

"Fuck, yes!" Robin cried out as the enormous cock slid against his prostate. Slade was alternating between long and fast strokes, pulling out completely only to drive back inside with enough force to lift the teen's ass from the bed for a small moment.

Robin tried desperately to meet each of the hard thrusts, but his body simply lacked the strength.

"I'm going to keep fucking you even if you faint," Slade told him, alternating to short but very fast thrusts.

The teen gave a sound of acknowledgement and kept smiling, tired as he was, he couldn't imagine sleeping through his ass being jack-hammered by the bulldozer that was Slade. He laughed again at the imagery. Maybe he was going to faint, he hadn't felt that loopy since he was hit by The Joker's laughing gas.

Slade looked down at the teen and sighed. Out like a light, poor kid. Ah, well. Slade was nothing if not a man of his word.

* * *

Robin opened his eyes with a groggy but very pleased expression. He wondered briefly why everything was so damned dark before he realized that he was still wearing the blindfold. Well, that was one question answered, he moved on to the next: why was his hair wet?

"Finally awake?" A stern voice asked him. "Good. Open your mouth."

"Good morning to you too." Robin mumbled back to Slade, instantly mimicking his disgruntled tone. "What crawled up your butt and died?"

"You threw up."

Robin frowned. "Are you sure?"

"It was like a fountain. Quite fantastic, really, but I had to clean it up. You're lucky you didn't wake up on the streets. Now, open your mouth."

Robin thought it was best not to argue, and so he quickly complied with the man's wishes. Suddenly a round and sugary disk was forced roughly into his mouth. Robin objected before he realized that he had just been given a chocolate chip cookie, granted a rather _violent_ chocolate chip cookie, but he'd thrown up on the man, he probably didn't have much right to complain.

"Now sit up, your hair is a mess."

Robin, to the best of his abilities, complied. He chewed absently at the cookie as Slade began to brush out his hair, pulling a bit roughly at times and earning a little growl from the teen.

"Consider it payment," the man growled right back, but he did brush a _little_ more softly then.

"Sorry about- mmphf!" Robin was shut up by another cookie and decided that he was probably done talking for a bit.

Slade carried on in silence, quickly braiding Robin's hair so that, should the teen decide to hurl out more pepperoni pizza, he would have something to hold onto. Maybe he could just tie the damned braid to the showerhead and leave the boy there for the rest of the night. A lesser man would have laughed at that imagery, but not Slade. He did chuckle a bit, though.

"Back to bed," Slade commanded, roughly pushing the young man down to the mattress once again.

"Don't be mad at me," Robin objected, "it was your idea to- Mmphf!" He chewed on the fresh cookie and shrugged. There were worse things in life than getting some extra sleep and eating cookies in bed.

* * *

Thus ends the longest chapter I've ever written. It got a bit goofy here and there, but it frosts my cupcake, so I'm alright with it. For those that are curious, the "_I'm going to put the real needle in_" was a line that Dameon-Grey's tongue piercer said just after he had finished up. I've never seen Dori's eyes get so big so quickly. It was really very phenomenal.

**VOTING OPPORTUNITY!**

So, I had an idea for a chapter where Slade and Robin make a bet with one another. **The stakes?** Loser has to call the other one "Master" for a night. **The problem?** I can't decide who should win the gamble!

Want to help me decide? Leave me your **vote **in a review! Voters will get a limited edition Birthday Censorship Cupcake!.... well, not really... but you _do _get a say in the future chapter!


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks to everyone that waited (patiently or not ;p) for the new chapter. And a BIG thank you to Linden Mae for Betaing again!

I was going to have a big plot twist happen in this chapter, and then I became distracted by sex... again... But it was a pretty good opportunity to squeeze in a couple requests. Blackthorne369 and Chrissy Sky have both put in requests that I tried to fit into this chapter. I've been trying to put in bits and pieces of Chrissy Sky's request throughout the story, but they've all been fairly subtle. Let me know if you have any more ideas to use your request, Chrissy, and I'll try and put them to good use!

* * *

Chapter 16

* * *

Robin awoke to the smell of cooked ham the next morning. It was a nice smell, considering that his mouth literally tasted like last night's supper, and he sat up to get a better whiff.

"That smells divine," he hummed, stretching.

Slade turned and looked over at the naked and blindfolded teen in his bed. He was half-hard from sleep, naturally, but that didn't prevent Slade from considering it to be a very practical invitation. "Good, you're _up_."

Robin noted the distinct tone in the man's voice but chose to ignore it in favor of breakfast. "Save it, Slade. The only _meat_ I'm interested in right now is that ham you're cooking."

"Who says you're getting any?"

"I do. Unless you don't want to _get any _either." Robin turned his attention to the man's voice. Blindfolded or not, he liked to pretend he could keep tabs on the man. "Or I could puke all over your bed again," he added darkly. Now that he was slightly more coherent, he actually felt rather embarrassed about that. He was just glad it hadn't happened while giving the man head. Although… if there was anything worth choking on, Slade's cock was a definite qualifier.

"I would rather you didn't, _really_." Slade replied, placing breakfast on a wooden tray and bringing it to the hero. "Enjoy."

"Breakfast in bed? That's awfully generous." Robin felt the tray being placed at his sides.

"Well, I am a natural _giver_."

The hero laughed as he reached blindly for his meal. His fingers traced the edge of the plate and slowly worked around the edge until he found a fork and knife waiting for him there. He gave a small and indistinguishable sigh of relief, having thought that Slade might try to feed him by hand. Sentimental gestures like that really bothered him. They made him feel helpless and childish. It was one line that he wanted drawn quite clearly; what they were doing was _not_ love.

"How's your head?" Slade's voice was flat, much like a doctor commenting about a strangely shaped freckle that could be cancerous, but probably wasn't. "Any dizziness?"

The teen gave a small shake of his head as he chewed. He did feel fine, but he also felt fine before he passed out and threw up all over his arch-enemy turned fuck-buddy, so he wasn't terribly convinced. Apparently, neither was Slade because he kept asking.

"Nausea?"

"No." Robin answered plainly as he blindly stabbed at a bit of fruit on the side of his plate. "And before you keep asking, no, I don't have chills or tingling in my lips or nose."

Slade gave a short affirming sound and Robin felt a tiny smile play across his lips.

"But thanks for the concern," the teen said before taking a bite out of the fruit that turned out to be a bit of apple.

"I can't have you leaving here in a wreck, can I?" Slade replied in a drawl. "That would mean a breach of contract."

Robin swallowed the fruit a bit harder than he meant to and nodded. He supposed that _would_ mean a breach in the contract. After all, fainting and throwing up on your enemies was never a terribly good tactic, but it was especially bad if you were _fighting_ them and not just fucking them. "And what about the limp I usually have for a few days, hmm?" Robin joked. "That affects my life outside of the agreement."

"That's a souvenir." The villain corrected, snatching Robin's hand and eating the bit of pineapple that was on the end of the fork the teen was holding.

"And _that_ was mine."

"It was rotten," Slade lied. "I couldn't let you eat something rotten, could I? Suppose you became ill and-"

"I get it, I get it." Robin waved his hand dismissively and kept eating.

Slade had a terrible sense of humor, but his cooking by far made up for that fact. Robin ate the rest in relative silence while Slade pulled out the morning newspaper and read it, breaking the silence for a few brief moments by shuffling the pages and, less frequently, reading bits of interesting stories.

"You don't happen to have a spare toothbrush, do you?" Robin asked as he pushed the tray aside and swung his feet over the side of the bed.

"I do, top drawer." Slade replied, taking the tray from the bed and returning it to the kitchen area.

Robin gave a short mumble of thanks and blindly walked for the bathroom. He wanted to think that he had memorized the whole apartment by now, but it wasn't all that easy. There was always uncertainty in darkness. He gave a short little sound of relief when he felt the cool tile on the toes of his left foot, but that relief was short lived as his shoulder bumped against the doorframe at the last moment.

"Yes, I saw that."

"Of course you did, you were probably staring at my ass this whole time."

Slade looked up from the pert little cheeks, his eye widening briefly before his features melted into a smirk. "We do know each other too well."

* * *

Robin readjusted his blindfold before entering into the main room once again.

"Did you braid my hair?" he asked, trying to ensure that there was at least a noticeable amount of indignation in his words.

Slade set the newspaper on the table and looked up at the teen, smirking at how he cocked his head to the side and placed a hand on his hip as if that could make him look more menacing.

"I did. Just after I took the time to wash it clean." Slade replied, keeping his voice deliberately free of venom because he knew that would get the boy's goat more than anything. He was right, of course, as soon as he said that Robin's expression faltered slightly. "You _could_ say thank you."

"I could…" Robin shrugged, "but I have a pretty busy day ahead of me and I probably shouldn't waste any more time."

"Oh? Leaving so soon?" Slade asked innocently, "You don't plan on berating me about your nipples, too?"

Robin, for a split second, paled. He then turned a very pretty shade of pink as he lifted his hands and gently brushed the tips of his fingers against the metal piercings.

"Oh… shit…"

"Personally, I find them quite lovely. Though, perhaps I should have gone with gold rather than steel. It would suit you much better." He smirked as Robin's fingers gingerly probed over the surface of his nipples. He was obviously regretting his decision, but something in the little quirk of his lips told the man that he probably didn't regret it _that_ much.

Robin's mind was racing, he spun on his heels and headed back towards the bathroom, forsaking any pretenses of cool and reaching his hands out so that he didn't accidentally run into a wall.

Slade gave a small laugh as the hero closed the bathroom door soundly behind him. Perhaps their little game last night had been too much for the boy. Ah, well. It had been fun up until the vomit.

* * *

The mirror in Slade's bathroom was small and hung high on the wall. This frustrated Robin as he tried to get a better look at the pieces of metal embedded in his skin. Standing on tiptoe was even more frustrating, so he quickly opted to jump on top of the counter, resting his knees on either side of the sink and then staring at his nipples in the reflection.

He jumped slightly as the door began to open, but before he could warn Slade that he wasn't blindfolded, he saw that the man was masked once again.

"Good morning." Slade voiced with dark hints of enthusiasm. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he wasn't really addressing the boy wonder; no, the man was actually addressing the fact that the teen was on his counter, legs spread and already looking a bit frustrated. Robin's body didn't even have the decency to ignore the tone of the man's voice because one moment later he felt a small twitch from his groin.

"I can't believe I let you do this…" Robin turned his attention back to the little pink buds. He bit his lip. Sure, they looked nice… but they were completely impractical. Suppose he had to fight down in the sewers today? There was no way to prevent infection. And even if he was able to keep bacteria out, how could he keep them from being seen? His uniform was skin tight, flush against his chest; ooh, that would probably feel… anyway, he had to worry about his reputation. If the tabloids decided to pick up on something like that, Bruce would be furious. How would he react to his _sidekick_ getting his nipples pierced?

"Decisions, decisions, hmm?" Slade gave an invisible smirk from behind his mask as he opened a drawer and pulled out one of the meager first aid kits and grabbed a cotton swab and some sort of sterile solution that he quickly soaked the cotton with.

Robin held his breath but couldn't hold in the flinch as the cold was pressed against his nipple.

"Sensitive?" Slade asked, though it was hardly a question. He let his other hand dip below the boy's waist and snake between his legs. "I have just the thing for that."

Robin chewed on his bottom lip as Slade turned and left the bathroom. He really did have to make a decision. Quickly. The right choice was obvious. Take the damned things out and let the holes close up. But the _right_ choice wasn't the _only_ choice… He looked at his nipples more closely. He liked them. A lot. He hadn't considered any type of body modification before. At least, not seriously. Bruce would be strongly against it, Robin knew. The man had made jeering comments about thugs with ear piercings; the young hero couldn't _imagine_ what he would think about _this_.

Slade returned to the room with a small plastic bottle. He held it over the tender spots on the teen's chest and gave a small squeeze which sent large drops of clear, thick liquid onto the piercings.

"Gently move the bar back and forth," Slade's voice was its usual demanding tone, but there was a surprising softness to it also, something that made Robin scowl and immediately harden. The sensation only intensified as Slade's fingers pinched the piercing at either end and slowly began to drag the bar back and forth.

Robin tried to prevent the little gasp from escaping him, but he could tell by the look in the man's eye that he had failed. He could hardly help it, though, it felt so strange! His eyes drifted back down to his chest where he found that the little pink mounds had darkened considerably to rosier color.

Slade took the hero's hand in his own and guided it up to repeat the procedure on the other nipple, making Robin's breath hitch in his throat. It didn't hurt, but the tingling as the bar moved back and forth under his skin was something that Robin was definitely not used to. He didn't seem to mind it, though; or at least his body didn't, because as soon as Slade's hand moved away from his nipple, it slid down to his crotch.

"So, what do you think?" The man asked him in a perfect bedroom voice as his hand closed around Robin's crotch and gently pumped. "Do you want me to take them out?"

Robin swallowed hard and stared at the piercings. He could almost hear Bruce telling him how stupid it was, how immature, how…

"I'll keep them." Robin said decidedly, the tiniest of smirks playing over his lips.

"You're sure Daddy-Bats won't ground you?" Slade grinned behind his mask, once again playing to Robin's weakness as the hand tightened over his member.

"Batman has nothing to do with this." Robin snubbed. "And, really, neither do you. _I_ like them. So _I_ have decided to keep them."

Slade made an amused sound as his free hand began to move up and down the boy's leg. Robin was always a fresh source of amusement.

"I've also decided that there is enough time for a morning fuck," the teen's lips twitched at the corners. "If you're interested."

"I suppose I am… but I believe a punishment is in order for last night's mess."

"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"I will when I can stop benefiting from it."

"So, what? Are you going to _spank_ me?"

"Exactly." Slade's voice was perfectly calm, alerting Robin to the fact that there was some real potency behind those words.

"Sounds kinky." Robin grinned as he reached for the blindfold yet again. "I'm game."

* * *

"-OW! -FUCK! -SLADE!" Robin reared up on the man's lap but was quickly forced down with another stinging swat to his behind.

"There, there." The villain soothed, running a hand over the reddening cheeks before raising his hand and bringing it down once again.

"I thought- _Fuck!_- it would be play- _Aah!_- playful swats!" Robin's toes curled as one of the spanks sent a sharp tingle through his testes. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, despite being painful.

"What? Not having fun?" Slade asked him, reaching beneath the teen and palming his erection. "Then what's this?"

"Oh, fu- _FUCK!_" Robin growled as Slade's hand struck him yet again. He was about to counter Slade's comment with the fact that the villain was also hard, judging by the very noticeable bulge that was jabbing him in the stomach, but the man began to speak again.

"One gets what one deserves."

"Then -_Afck!_- you're overdue."

"Hmm… You're right…" Slade's voice turned a warmer tone of velvet as his hand rested gently on the stinging cheeks.

Robin took in a gasp and felt his cheeks burning red- both sets of them. He had just been spanked; worse yet, he'd enjoyed it, that fact alone was easily ten times more embarrassing than the spanking itself. Yet there he was, teetering naked on a villain's lap, his nipples pierced, his face red, his _ass_ red, and his damn cock giving away the fact that he really enjoyed all of it.

"After that mess last night, I deserve a little show." Slade announced, rubbing his thumb absentmindedly over the teen's tingling skin. "Alright then, _UP_!"

Robin jumped and growled at the last, _hard_, strike to his behind. "Dick," he grumbled as he pushed himself off the man and reached around in a vague attempt to soothe the sensitive skin.

"Yes, yes. Soon." Slade laughed as he played along with the teen's words, ignoring the scowl that came from the boy as he gingerly rubbed away the stinging in his behind. Slade grabbed the teen's wrists, pulling them back from comforting the reprimanded skin. "This is a punishment, remember?"

"I didn't actually agree to be punished. I _thought_ it was going to be a kinky game." Robin corrected, turning to the man and glaring through the blindfold. "But if all you're going to do is fuck with me without actually _fucking_ _me_, then I'll just be on my way."

"It's a little late to come off as irritated, Robin." Slade told him, gently trailing a finger over the teen's length. "If you really wanted to go, then you would go. And I wouldn't stop you."

The edges of Robin's lips quirked upward, "Pretty quick to call my bluff… You must really want it too."

"I can't help it that you're a terrible liar," Slade informed him with a grin as he held both of Robin's wrists in one of his hands while his other reached into the bedside table. "And I wasn't able to come last night, you may recall. I have some catching up to do."

Robin made a face when the cold metal encircled his wrists and tightened.

"Just the cuffs?" He teased, wiggling his wrists behind his back and smirking. "Lazy."

"I intend to make you pick up the slack." The man chuckled, peeling off his clothing and tossing it over the side of the bed. "You're going to ride me."

Robin gave an annoyed look. Despite having impeccable balance, having his hands cuffed behind his back would make things difficult. "Now you're just being childish. If I got payback for every time you didn't let me co-"

The hero didn't quite have the time to finish that sentence because the man swiftly moved behind him, placing his knees between the teen's and spreading them further apart before grabbing Robin's hips and thrusting inside.

"There. Happy now?" Slade asked him, thrusting into the tight heat a few times before dragging the hero down into position.

Robin growled and twisted slightly, trying to face the man even though his body was facing the other way. "Handcuffed and backwards?" Robin scoffed. "You're making things difficult just for the hell of it."

"I like the view," Slade told him, his eye raking over the teen's back. His cheeks were still bright red from the spanking and his hair was coming undone from the braid; his hands, held behind him by the metal, merely completed the perfect picture of debauchery.

"You're such a prick, you know that?" Robin huffed but began moving all the same.

He instinctively held his breath as he moved, listening for the soft sounds and light chuckles that the villain would occasionally give. Robin loved those sounds, but not nearly as much as the low growls and unintentional groans that could only be heard during their more vigorous activities.

The teen's head tilted back and he let out a hard moan, clenching his muscles and hearing a very faint imperfection in the man's breathing, something close to a moan, but not quite there. Robin smirked and wondered briefly if Slade was actually shy about making noise during sex. He hardly seemed the type to be shy about anything, and yet… Robin bit his lip and pushed the thought away. It was too personal, too curious. And why would he want to know, anyway? He was happier not knowing.

Robin gave a sharp gasp of his own. Slade had thrust his hips up, driving himself deeper into the teen and lifting him a few good inches higher than his normal pattern

"Wake up, Boy Wonder," Slade said with just the right amount of irony in his voice. "What could possibly distract you from _this_?"

Robin twisted so that Slade could catch a glimpse of his smirk. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you actually wanted to participate."

"That's bold, coming from someone who _fainted_ last night."

"You bored me so much I fell asleep," Robin dismissed his remark, arching his back so that Slade's cock pressed hard into his prostate with long, hard thrusts.

"Hmm. I suppose I'll have to try harder." Slade replied, wrapping his hands around the teen's hips and helping him move into a deeper, faster pace.

"Ahh! There!" Robin groaned, leaning into the hands and using them for support as his body moved. Breathing deeply, he threw his head back pulled at the loose braid, causing it to unwind and spill over his back as he moved in measure with the man's hands.

Slade gave a sinister smile, still watching the hero's body take everything that was given to it.

"We should make a movie sometime." He said wistfully, watching his cock disappear inside the teen once again.

"No way," Robin turned to shoot the man a glare, finding it a bit difficult to do because their bodies were moving faster.

"Really? That's a shame. You don't know what you're missing."

Robin scoffed and felt himself harden. He really wouldn't mind seeing a video, but leaving concrete proof, _especially_ when they already suspected they were being watched, was beyond stupid. He knew better than that, at least.

The hero moaned loudly when he felt the hand on his hip drift down over his erection, closing around it and letting the boy angle his movements so that he could thrust into the grip.

"Unnn! Slade!"

The man chuckled, gripping harder with the hand on the teen's hips to keep the rhythm consistent.

"Slade!"

"Yes?" He responded innocently, not expecting the reply that came next.

"You should know better… than to use cheap cuffs on me."

The man heard a sound of metal cracking and smirked as Robin's hands broke apart. He didn't stop the teen as he lifted himself off the hard cock and spun around, planting a greedy kiss on the man's lips and smirking as he positioned his body back over the thick member.

Slade felt the tip of his cock brush against the teen's entrance, hot and tight, begging to be fucked. He gave a grin and thrust inside, making Robin scream out a weak cry as his body jostled forward at the impact.

"Ahh… Slade!" he cried out, pushing back against each of the man's movements. His hands shot forward, landing on the thick muscles of Slade's chest. His breathing was hot and heavy as he leaned forward once again, capturing the man's lips in his own. Their bodies were hard against one another, but Robin felt a surprising tenderness in the kiss. It was deep, yet very soft, and it moved much slower than the pace of their bodies.

Robin ended that with a quick bite to Slade's lip. He had no use for tender, sentimental gestures. He wanted sex. Not kindness, not romance, not love. _Sex_.

Slade let out a low chuckle and ran his tongue over his bitten lip as Robin moved away with a scowl.

"Come on, I don't have all day," the hero mumbled, moving a hand up to stroke himself.

"Well, if that's what you want," Slade replied with a smirk, grabbing hard and forcing the teen into a rigorous pattern.

Robin moaned loudly at the sudden change, feeling the man thrust up even harder and deeper than before, clearly intent on finishing the job. It was working. Robin felt himself grow even harder, his balls tightening as he prepared to come.

"Ahh… I'm close!"

Slade gave a low, throaty chuckle and kept up the pace, relishing the sound of the hero's skin hitting his with every bounce and thrust.

A deep blush was forming over Robin's cheeks as he moved; he could feel every vein and pulse that came from the man's cock. Slade was coming closer to release as well, Robin realized. His thrusts were hard, fast, and deep, but the pattern was disintegrating. There was no point in keeping it. They would both be done soon.

Robin tilted his head back and cried out as he came, spraying the man's chest with hot, thick cum. His body quivered as he pushed himself down on the man's erection a few more times, not even bothering to withdraw enough to hit his prostate.

Slade groaned as he moved through the tightness of Robin's orgasm, fucking the teen with the last, hard thrusts before he felt himself coming. He growled as he came, forcing the hero's body to continue moving, though it clearly wanted to do nothing of the sort.

"Keep going." Slade told him mercilessly, grabbing the teen's body as another, larger wave of come emptied into the teen.

Robin growled back meekly and clenched as best he could in the post-orgasm glory.

"Bastard," the teen grumbled as the man's hands forced him back into a rigorous pace.

Slade let out a quiet groan as he felt his cock finally soften inside the hero. His breathing was just as unsteady as his lover's, but he didn't hesitate to grab a fistful of the dark hair and drag the teen's mouth down to his own, claiming it in the aggressive and loveless way that he knew Robin wanted.

He responded with a loud moan, fighting back with tooth and tongue as he allowed his body to collapse on top of the villain.

"So fucking good…" Robin breathed, feeling his own cum stick between their bodies.

"Liked that, did you?" Slade asked, running his fingers through the boy's hair and lightly massaging his scalp.

"Mm-hmm," came a short reply from the teen who rolled to the side but let the man keep toying with his hair. Robin decided to yield to the new touch simply because it felt far too good to put a stop to.

"What's this?" Slade teased, giving a playful tug to a handful of dark hair. "Not going to fall asleep on me, are you?"

"Just a nap." Robin promised. His body felt heavy, and besides, it wasn't his day to patrol.

"I thought you sai-" Slade stopped mid sentence, causing Robin's eyes to shoot open under the blindfold. It was a real accomplishment to shut Slade up, so whatever had caused the man's silence must have been something big. Before Robin could even open his mouth to ask what was happening, he felt it.

It was an extremely large jolt at first. Robin gave a tiny yelp of surprise when his body was lifted from the bed before he crashed back down. He felt Slade's hands wrap around his arms and force him down against the mattress while the villain covered him with his body.

"What is-" Robin gasped as another wave began. It took the hero a moment to realize what was happening. An earthquake. A _BIG_ one. His knuckles turned white as he kept a tight grip on the man. Somewhere in the darkest corner of his mind, he could admit to himself that he was afraid, but the hero in him didn't really allow that. He endured in the darkness behind the blindfold while he heard the crashing, the ripping and the breaking. It felt like the world was ending.

It occurred to Robin, then, just what Slade was doing. His body was holding him down, shielding him, _protecting_ him. Despite all the hate he felt towards that gesture, Robin couldn't help but feel thankful for it. Without thinking, without rationalizing what the consequences of his actions might be, Robin placed his hands on the man's cheeks and tilted his head until his lips brushed against Slade's. They touched softly at first, and soon Robin felt his tongue moving against the villains. It was not a hot or demanding kiss. It was warm and kind. Robin knew he could never forgive himself for that single moment.

When the shaking finally stopped, Slade pulled away from the hero, leaving him with a numb feeling. He didn't have time to sort out that kiss or what it meant. The earthquake had been terrible and people were no doubt in need of help. He sat up swiftly and listened to Slade's movements, not at all surprised when he felt his uniform land on his lap.

"Get going, hero," Slade told him as he secured his mask and locked it into place.

Robin pulled off his blindfold and quickly surveyed the room as he donned his uniform. The damage wasn't as bad as it had felt or sounded, but the entire apartment was in a state of total disarray. Broken glass littered the floor from fallen light fixtures, the cupboards were hanging open and most of their contents had spilled out among the chaos. It was, all in all, a complete and utter mess.

Robin tensed as he felt another tremble from the earth, though it was hardly more than a very gentle vibration. He turned his attention outside the window and noticed a large cloud of dust and debris. A building had just collapsed.

"Shit." He said, pulling on his boots and frowning at the wet sensation between his cheeks. Why was it that disasters had no respect for hectic sex lives or the need for bathing? He stood to his feet and made his way over the mess, ignoring the crunch of glass under his feet.

"Hold on," Slade's voice cut through the chaos and Robin turned to face him, "Drink this."

Robin found a purple drink pushed into his hands. He recognized the smell from the night before and identified it as the grape drink.

"No time," he tried to hand the glass back to the villain but Slade only pushed him hard against the wall with a growl.

"Drink it or you don't get to leave," Slade glared from behind his mask, letting Robin know that he was serious. "You're still exhausted from last night. This will help."

Robin returned the glare, but brought the drink to his lips and guzzled it down as quickly as he could, not caring that some spilled over the sides of the cup and dribbled down his chin.

"Good boy," Slade purred, taking the empty glass and throwing it among the rubble. He then reached for Robin's belt, tucking a small plastic bottle into one of the pockets. "Be sure to clean them tonight." He said, brushing his thumb ever so lightly over one of Robin's nipples. "Otherwise I'll have to do it for you."

Robin nodded and pulled away from Slade's hold, wrenching open the elevator doors and staring down into the dark abyss.

"Later, Slade." He said, purposefully keeping his back to the man before he let himself fall into the darkness.

"Of course, Robin." Slade replied, listening to the echoing sounds of a grappling gun being fired and the teen beginning to rappel down the blackened shaft. Under his mask lay a knowing smirk.

* * *

AN:Is Slade up to something? I don't knooow ;p!

Also... Not sure if any of you noticed, but FanFiction has decided to take out all the *asterisk page breakers that I use. It's done this in all the chapters and stories that I've written. What a pile of Grr! I'll be fixing that sometime in hopefully the near future.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

~Thank you LindenMae, my super-beta!~

Welcome to the cluster-fuck chapter! A lot happens, so I'll shut up and let you read.

* * *

Robin nodded to the policeman as he carefully handed him the tiny, lifeless body. It wasn't the first casualty to be found among the wreckage, but it was the first child.

"This too." He said, holding out a rag of a doll to the man. The officer looked at him wearily but Robin gently set the toy with the child. "Just take it."

He inhaled deeply, his lungs already so filled with dust that he hardly even coughed. That's when he heard the sound of the jet coming closer. Finally, the Titans East.

He waved them down, looking exhausted.

"Geeze, look at this place," Speedy said as jumped down from the aircraft.

Mas y Menos zipped around curiously while the others joined Robin.

"Geeze, look at _you_!" Speedy began, stopping when Bee hit him square in the ribs with her elbow.

"Don't mind him," She said, extending her hand to Robin, who shook it. "Relief supplies are on the way, everyone should have fresh food and water within the next few hours. How are you guys holdin' up?"

Robin did his best to muster a smile, "We'll pull through. Thanks for coming everyone."

"Hey Bee," Cyborg called as he rounded the corner, waving for her to join him. "Perfect timing. Scanners say there are some civilians trapped under this collapsed building. Could you shrink down and tell them we're on our way?"

Robin watched as the two disappeared around the corner before turning back to the others.

"Well?" Speedy asked impatiently.

"Well, what?" Robin stared blankly at him. "Search and rescue. Speedy, you find Raven and help her. Aqualad, you take the pier. Mas and Menos-"

"¿Si, señor?" the twins zipped in front of him and Robin was slightly surprised to find that he didn't have to look down as much as he was used to. They had grown.

"I want you to help with communications. Lots of people are missing their families and starting to panic." He handed the boys a map of the city and pointed to several locations. "These are safe camps where people are staying. Travel back and forth letting people know if their loved ones are safe."

"¡Por Supuesto! ¡Si podemos!"

And with that, the twins were gone. Robin heaved a sigh and went back to his own work.

* * *

The hero turned off the water with a heavy groan and wrapped a towel around his waist. They had each been rewarded with a short bath and shower, but Robin still felt dirty. He always felt like that when he dealt with cadaver recovery. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever be clean again.

He wondered briefly how Slade did it, but before he even had the chance to force that thought away, his communicator rang with a very distinct tone.

"Shit, not now." He grumbled, digging through his dirty clothing until he found the communicator and flipped it open. "Batman."

"Robin. How is Jump?"

"Not as bad as it all looks. The death-count is still pretty low considering how bad the quake was."

"We're sending in backup to help."

"The worst is over, I think. All that's left is cleanup."

"Still, you can't possibly know how to organi-" Batman paused, obviously looking at something off screen while Robin grit his teeth.

"Yes, _Bruce_. I _can_ handle it. I handled it just _fine_ without you."

"There's been another quake, I'll call you back." Batman said, reaching blindly for the communicator and shutting it off without as much as a glance towards his former sidekick.

Robin growled and threw the communicator back onto his clothing pile. "Thanks a lot."

He began roughly brushing out his tangled hair when yet another communicator call tried to come through. He dug through his clothing once again and pulled out his _other_ communicator.

"I'm a little busy, Slade." He told the man as he worked through a particularly ratted tangle.

"Oh?" The man played dumb. "I'll keep it brief, then. How are your nipples?"

"Just fine. I'm about to clean them now."

"Did you receive the care instructions I sent you?"

"Yes, yes. I saw that."

"You're welcome."

Robin pursed his lips, trying not to say the words that he really didn't want to speak; however, Alfred's disapproving face kept nudging into his thought process, silently pressuring him. "…Thanks."

He closed the communicator. A furious blush of indignation on his cheeks and his lips held tight as if he'd tasted something awful. Why'd he have to go and _thank_ him like that? He would have figured it out on his own. He wasn't stupid.

Still, Robin was not too proud to reach for the communicator again, opening the file with care instructions that Slade had sent him. He followed them exactly and let out a long sigh when it was all done. He then took a moment to examine his chest and a very light smirk grew over his features. He really, _really_ did like the piercings.

Robin jumped when his bathroom door opened without warning. He could have sworn it was locked just a moment ago.

"Hey Robin, did Batman tell you-" Speedy burst into his room and froze when he saw the naked chest of the Teen Titan's fearless leader. Robin felt a blush crawl over his cheeks as a grin spread over the red head's features. "Heeeey! Titty-twins!" He eagerly lifted his uniform to show Robin his own nipples, which were pierced with some type of red-patina steel.

"How did you get in?" Robin demanded, resisting the urge to cover his nipples and shriek.

"Starfire told me the over-ride code in case there was an emergency," Speedy told him blankly, still holding his uniform up to his neck as if he expected Robin to be fascinated.

"And how is showing me your nipples an emergency?" The dark haired teen asked dryly as he resumed his hair brushing.

"You're no fun." He continued to keep his shirt lifted. "Didn't Batman call you? Green Arrow wants us back in Steel City in case something happens there."

"What?" Robin turned, squinting one eye when he pulled harder than he meant to on a tangle.

"Well, after the quake in Gotham and now Metropolis-"

"WHAT?"

"You didn't know? Yeah, I guess not. Your system is pretty damaged… but Batman didn't call you?"

"He did," Robin glared. "He just didn't bother to tell me that." Robin set down his brush and picked up his communicator from on top of his dirty clothes. More earthquakes? One in Gotham? Was that why Bruce ended the call so quickly? Was he alright?

"Tell Bee to get things ready. We'll see you off." Robin shooed the boy out of his bathroom and quickly placed a call to Batman.

"Batman." Bruce answered the communicator and Robin saw that he was driving… no, flying.

"There was a quake in Gotham?" Robin tried to sound worried, but it only came out a tepid anger. "When, just now?"

"No, earlier today. Approximately an hour before yours."

"And you didn't call me?" Robin hissed. "Are you alright?"

"We had it under control." Bruce answered, finding it to be a suitable response for both questions.

"So, what? Now there's one in Metropolis too?" Robin asked

"And in Tokyo and England."

"Christ, what's going on?"

"That's exactly what I intend to find out. I'll be dropping by for a visit, soon."

"Great. Just give me enough time to tidy up the city." Robin joked, feeling a tiny speck of comfort in the smile his mentor gave him.

"I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll be ready."

Robin closed his communicator with a heavy sigh. He hadn't actually _seen_ Bruce for years. He'd gone home after the brief _apprenticeship_ with Slade. There was nothing left in that home but anger and feelings that would never be fully resolved. To Batman, he was still an amateur, a punk kid. Or worse yet, a scared kid that clung to the platform, watching as his parents fell to their deaths.

He glared into the mirror like it was his own personal enemy.

* * *

"Sorry we can't stay," Bee told him as she shook his hand.

"You did more than enough. Thanks for coming." Robin smiled at her and waved to the rest of the Titans East as they buckled into the jet. "Hopefully you won't have any problems at home."

"Let's hope not," she gave the team a smile before joining her own Titans in the jet. "Keep the comm. lines open. We'll keep you updated until your system is back online!"

They watched as the jet flew over the city and off into the distance before turning back towards the tower.

"Come on," Robin sighed, "let's see if we can't catch some shut-eye before Batman gets here."

They didn't get far.

"Robin, you may have some trouble." Bee's voice sprang from the communicator. "I just saw Slade on top of the Wayne Industries building."

Robin felt his breath hitch in his throat, but there was no time for that. His lips parted into a snarl.

"Titans, GO!"

* * *

They arrived in the eerie stillness of the dark building. It was cold and sterile, feeling a bit too similar to Wayne Manor for Robin's liking, worse even, because it didn't have Alfred to brighten things up. It only had guards. Or at least it was supposed to. Robin looked into the security room and found them there, dead or unconscious, he wasn't sure.

"They're alive," Cyborg told him.

"But just barely," Raven finished. "They need help."

"Can you transport them?"

The pale girl nodded and, faster than a blink, she had disappeared with the injured bodies.

"Something is happening thirteen floors up." Cyborg told him as he read off his scanners. "Inorganic life forms. They're robots."

"Great… Move in carefully." Robin growled and the four remaining Titans began to do just that. The leader wondered what they would meet on the thirteenth floor of Wayne Enterprises. Was it Slade? His robots? Or some of the robots that had been stolen from him? Robin still wondered bitterly if that was all a lie. It was possible that Slade had set that whole thing up, hoping to lull Robin into a false sense of camaraderie with their shared enemy. Slade always had his own agenda and reason for doing things, something Robin kept telling himself not to forget.

As they made their way up, it became more and more apparent that something _big_ was happening on the thirteenth floor. There were no voices, only loud crashes; the sound of walls breaking, of metal bending.

He motioned silently for the others to halt before he himself looked around the corner. What he found was surprising. The number of bots was staggering. But that was hardly noteworthy when Robin discovered what they were doing.

They were tearing each other apart.

And in the middle of the fray, Robin noticed something even more peculiar. Slade was there too. Attacking with what could have been indiscretion, but in the mess of destruction, it was impossible to tell.

He pulled back and silently told his team what was going on. Beast Boy gave a sign that meant 'fight' as he looked to Robin, asking if they should join in the fray.

The teen shook his head. This was one storm that was much better to wait out. Once the numbers had thinned somewhat, _then_ they would fight. Raven might even be back by then.

And, of course, that's when one of the Slade bots was thrown into the hallway, crashing into the wall. It sputtered and sparked a few times before it seemed to pull itself together and rise to its feet. The four Titans froze, unsure if they would be detected, but just before the bot returned to the room, the damn thing sent out a shrill alarm, gathering the attention of more robots and causing their tiny hallway to become even smaller.

Once the chaos found them, they lost each other, Beast Boy and Cyborg pushed back down the hall while Starfire floated above, fighting off the hoard of metal bodies as they marched and mangled one another. Somehow Robin ended up in the room, fighting the Sladebots tooth and nail for space.

He heard a grunt and a blush crawled over his face because that sound had become all too familiar to him. He turned to see Slade held against the wall by three of the bots, a fourth was coming too, flexing what looked like sharpened fingers and holding them in a deadly pose.

Robin wasn't sure how he had reached the robot in time. But one quick extension of his bo staff later, it was on the floor, electricity crackling. Slade managed to kick one of the robots away while he smashed the other two against one another, crushing their heads together until they nearly became a single machine and fell to the floor.

A loud boom and a flash of light made Robin turned his head, shielding his ears and closing his eyes tightly. When he dared to open them a small moment later, Slade was diving out the large hole that had been blown into the wall. Robin followed without hesitation.

Robin passed the man as he fell, Slade had somehow grabbed onto the building and was now climbing it, following a Sladebot that had something attached to its back. Was that what he was after? Or… was that perhaps what he was trying to prevent the robot from taking? Was Slade _helping_ him?

The hero shot his grappling-hook up to the fifteenth-floor terrace, where the bot seemed to be headed, pursued by Slade who was getting closer and closer with each passing moment.

Robin was the first to reach the ledge; he climbed readily onto the surface and quickly turned at the sound of metal scraping hard into the concrete. Thinking fast, the teen grabbed another grappling-gun, aimed, and fired the hook right through the robot's head.

The thing jolted at first, then scrapped frantically against the building before it seemed to have a small spasm and it simply let go. Robin had prepared himself to bear the weight of the robot, but his body still lurched dangerously forward, leaving him groaning as his legs pressed against the banister, trying to keep steady.

Then Slade was next to him, pulling on the chord and lifting the robot from the sky. It was a hardly more than a small struggle with the two of them, but Robin knew he couldn't have done it alone.

"Thanks for your help," Slade told him in a deadly even voice before he bent down to retrieve the device on the robot's back.

"Well, we're even now," Robin laughed, extending his hand so that Slade could hand him the device.

But he didn't.

"Come on, Slade," Robin's smile faltered. "Quit playing."

"I'm not playing." Slade told him, locking his grey eye on the teen. "Don't be naïve, boy. This isn't one of our games."

Robin dodged the first punch but not the kick that sent him flying against the railing.

"Fuck you!" He growled, recovering more quickly he was actually ready for and lunging at the man. He dodged Slade's punch again, actually managing to get in one of his own, a hard jab that pushed deep into his ribs, earning a grunt of pain. He wasn't so lucky the next time; Slade dodged the knee Robin had intended for his stomach and moved behind him, hitting him squarely between the shoulders and sending the teen to the ground.

Robin hit the concrete with a strangled hiss, feeling the skin on the right side of his face grind into the dust and stone, tearing open many cuts, shallow but stinging. He could feel the very edge of his mask coming loose, the glue weakened by the blood and lacerations on the material.

He kicked backward at the man's shins before he pushed off of the ground and gave the villain a clean left hook, followed by a roundhouse that actually sent the man to his knees.

He pulled back and pressed the mask back onto his face, hoping against hope that it would stick to the quickly drying blood. He didn't want such vulnerability visible to Slade. Not now. Not after he'd embarrassed himself by expecting the man to play fair.

He stomped on Slade's shoulder as the larger body attempted to rise, but that wasn't enough to stop him for long. A quick twist and a hard kick to the back of Robin's knee was enough to send the teen to the ground, giving Slade enough time to rise to one knee, grab a hold of the boy wonder's cape, rise completely, and spin the hero's body a half circle before throwing him off the side of the terrace.

The villain heard a gasp as Robin fell, and soon after the shot of a grappling gun. That wouldn't matter, though. By the time the hero could resurface, he would be gone.

* * *

Robin landed on the terrace and somersaulted before jumping to his feet. He knew Slade would be gone, but he took up a fighting stance anyhow, ready for whatever else the night could throw at him.

He slowly lowered his arms, letting the muscles calm, despite his body's protest to keep moving, keep _fighting_. But that was useless. Slade was gone. And he'd taken something that was no doubt powerful and dangerous.

* * *

Far off in the distance, Slade heard a very angry bird singing his name. He couldn't help but feel a bit touched by that.

* * *

Robin woke up with two headaches. One in his forehead, the other standing next to his bed.

"Morning, Batman."

"Heard you had a little trouble at Wayne Enterprises."

"Slade and an army of bad guys," Robin scowled, "not exactly what I'd call a _little_ trouble."

"They didn't take anything too pricey. It's hardly more than an over powered X-ray with audio."

"X-ray?" Robin's ears perked.

"Yes. Planting bugs is much more efficient, but when you can't get in, this is the next best option."

Robin's lips thinned. "It's a long range weapon, isn't it?"

"More or less." He drawled, "It has more than a few bugs, though. It likely would never make it into production."

_Great_. Robin glared at his blankets. As if Slade wasn't strong enough, now he had his own personal spying box.

"What about the Sladebots?" Robin asked.

"What about them?"

"I'd like to analyze them as soon as possible. We've had a bit of a situation with them lately."

"We'll worry about that later," Bruce turned for the door, motioning for the teen to follow him. "The police will hold onto them for evidence until you have more time."

"I'd like to get started on it now," the teen said sternly. "Let me make a quick call, just to move the evidence from the station to here. That way I can analyze their command chips when I get back."

"Worry about that later." Batman's voice hardened, "You can't worry about Slade when something is manufacturing killer earthquakes. You need to learn how to pick your priorities."

_Priorities_. Right. Bruce didn't know it, but he'd hit the nail on the head with that one. Robin knew he should have felt more ashamed at that moment, but he couldn't help sending out a biting comment.

"He's probably killed more people than these earthquakes have!" Robin spat as he followed the Dark Knight into the hallway of Titan's Tower. "You think Slade isn't a threat?"

"He's no Joker." Batman said plainly, but his eyes were sharp under the cowl.

Robin glared. Bruce was not a catty man, but he was too smart not to realize what a jab that had been.

"So, what?" The teen hissed, "Criminals here aren't a threat because we're not in Gotham? Grow up, Bruce!"

Batman turned on him in a flash and Robin did his best not to back down.

"Listen, _Richard_," The man growled in a very low voice as he came uncomfortably close to the teen. "I'm here for a very short time before I'm off to the next quake sight. We don't have time for petty squabbles. Help me on this and I'll be out of your hair until the next global disaster causes a family reunion."

Robin swallowed hard and gave a slow, angry nod.

"Good," was Batman's only reply before he turned again and headed for the door.

Robin followed, his jaw tight and hands clenched into fists. Small wonder why he ever left.

* * *

"Urð_!_" cried one of the girls as she tripped, spilling the pile of rich black dirt onto the stone floor.

"Verðandi" cried another of the girls, dropping what looked like water and reaching back for the girl.

"No, Skuld!" cried the last, grabbing the girl's wrist and yanking her forward. "We have to-"

"Got you!" Robin called as he finally reached Verðandi and cuffed her. He threw bolas at the other two, only managing to trip one of the girls momentarily as it caught only one of her ankles, but she quickly wiggled out of the binding and began to run again, disappearing into the maze of aqueducts and cisterns that riddled Jump City's underground.

* * *

The Titans had received a tip from a city worker that had traveled down to check the stability of the City Hall's foundation. He told them he found something that was not quite right and Batman had sent Robin to look at it while he examined some of the more topical fault lines closely.

And that's when Robin saw it. He wasn't sure what it was, exactly; it looked like something poking through the concrete in the basement. It looked organic in nature, like some sort of plant. It wasn't until he traveled down another sixty feet under the city, to the oldest of tunnels and passageways, that he made his discovery. Four of them.

The first three were the girls he would soon chase after. The other was… Robin still wasn't sure... it looked like roots, perhaps. The girls seemed to be tending to it, smearing the exposed bits with the dark sand and water. Had he been more prepared for such a sight, Robin likely would not have been so quick to gawk at it. But could he really blame himself? He had just discovered the world's largest tree in the making.

Before he could fully connect all the dots, he heard one of the girls shriek. He'd been spotted. Robin turned to see them fleeing down one of the many darkened tunnels.

* * *

"NO!" the girl who had been called Urð screamed as she fell to the ground, captured in a heavy net.

"Two down," Robin breathed, dropping a tracker chip so that the police would collect the girl before he gave chase to the third villain. She was the craftiest, it seemed, and also the swiftest because she was the only one of the three to make it back above ground. From there, she seemed a bit lost. Never the less, she managed to avoid all the tricks and traps that Robin threw her way.

* * *

There was only one thing in the world that could stop Robin from pursuing his prey, and he just so happened to spot that thing on the roof three buildings over.

_Slade._

His eyes moved frantically back and forth between the fleeing girl and the man, who didn't seem to be bothered enough to notice the pursuit. _Shit!_

Robin veered from his course and made a mad jump onto another rooftop. He landed on his feet and kept running, each movement bringing him closer to the villain. He hit the next rooftop in no time flat and soon he was leaping again to the next roof, flying over the gap that meant his certain death if he were to fall.

Slade turned when he felt the vibration of Robin's shoes hitting the concrete. The teen steadied himself and stood, glaring as he reached for his bo staff.

"Angry?" Slade asked in his usual dark tone. "What for?"

Robin's eyes swept over Slade as the man stood tall, facing Robin without the slightest breath of arrogance.

"I'm not angry that you tried to stop me." Slade let him know, "We agreed. No changing."

Robin's grip tightened on the staff. Slade was right about that much. They had agreed not to let their _play time_ change their _real lives_. But up until then, it hadn't mattered. Slade hadn't done anything wrong. It was different now. The hero felt his body begin to move and realized that he was attacking; he was supposed to, wasn't he?

His head was swimming. Was it a game now, or wasn't it? Were they playing at the anger and the hate? Hate… Was it hate that drove him to move? Wasn't it _always_ hate that drove him to move? To attack, to fight, to _fuck_… Wasn't it always hate that made him want Slade?

Robin gave the smallest of whimpers as his bo staff rose and jammed into Slade's ribs.

Was it hate? Or something… _else?_

Slade tore the staff away from the hero and closed his hand around the teen's throat. Robin was easy enough to lift from the ground, and soon he was dangling, toes barely brushing against the concrete as he grabbed onto the man's wrists, trying to lift himself from the grip so he could breathe.

It wasn't love. Robin knew. But it wasn't hate, either. Not anymore. There was no right word for it. _Unhealthy? _His mind offered and he laughed, not because it was funny, but because he wondered who thought of such things when they were being strangled to death.

Ah, well. They had agreed, after all. Their lives would remain the same outside of the agreement. Robin could feel the heat building up behind his eyes and he knew he would black out soon. Slade wouldn't let him die. But he couldn't help feeling a bit ashamed for losing.

That was the last thought Robin had before Slade let out a pained grunt and both their bodies went skidding across the rooftop. Robin struggled to breathe, there was darkness and silence for the few moments that the blood pounded away in his head, but soon he was struggling to stand up, fighting to regain full consciousness as his mind tried to decipher what was happening around him.

He clenched his eyes shut and opened them, forcing himself back into reality. He could hear Slade fighting. That was the first thing he tried to make his eyes focus on. At first, he thought he'd found Slade, but the world was spinning so fast that nothing made sense. He could hear the fighting still, but wasn't that Slade on the ground a few feet away? Robin shook his head from side to side and took another look. It wasn't Slade… it was his _mask_.

Robin gasped at the realization and, as if they were back in the apartment, shut his eyes before he could see any more. But then he heard Slade gasp and cough. It was a wet cough, the kind that only happened when there was liquid coming up. And that's when Robin smelled the blood.

"NO!" He found himself screaming when he opened his eyes, taking in the sight of a highly modified Slade-bot pulling its fist _out_ of Slade's chest, its mechanical hand dripping in fresh blood. _It was killing him!_

Robin jumped to his feet, ignoring the dizzying waves of nausea that told him he shouldn't be moving. He sprang in the air, kicking the bot away from Slade who lay motionless, face down in a puddle of his own blood.

There was no time to check on him. The Slade-bot was on its feet again, charging at Robin with sharp metal talons, poised to kill. The teen pulled out another bo-staff and extended it, fending off the first attack that was once again aimed at Slade.

It was targeting Slade, Robin realized. The teen threw the man another glance and gasped. There was so much blood. Too much… He couldn't possibly live through that… Robin choked slightly at the shock, feeling a wave of nausea hit him… If Slade wasn't dead, he would be very soon.

Robin let out a terrified roar when he felt the claws on his back, ripping through his cape and uniform and tearing into his skin. So much for targeting Slade. It seemed the hero had proven himself enough of a threat to warrant an attack on himself. The pressure of the claws increased and Robin was thrown across the rooftop once more, followed by the robot that was intent on making sure that there would be no more interruptions.

Robin fought as best he could, but his body was exhausted. His kicks lost height, his punches lost force. It was clear that he would lose. He was thrown to the ground one final time, landing hard on his back which forced the wind out of his lungs. The hero gasped as he saw the sharp hand lift back and then drive forward, fingers pressed into a single sharp point that was aimed directly at his face.

Slade's steel boot connected with the side of the robot's head, sending it crashing across the rooftop. Robin could only gawk at the man before him. He body was covered in blood and dirt, topped with a head of wild white hair, a scoundrel's smile, a black patch covering his right eye, and a sharp grey eye on the left.

**Slade**.

It felt like an eternity before Robin could move, before he could _breathe_. And by that time, the robot was on its way to attack again, but Slade was ready for it. He drew a sword from his back and swung hard, cutting clean through the metal and slicing the wires underneath. And that's when Robin saw the bomb that was implanted in the robot's torso.

"Bomb!" he said, returning to his feet and pulling on Slade's arm.

The man turned to him with the slightest of smiles as they began to run, putting as much distance as they could between themselves and the robot, which had collapsed but was crawling towards them with such speed that it hardly seemed damaged.

Robin felt a hard arm tighten around his waist and before he knew it, he and Slade were soaring over the side of the building.

There was a burst of sound and light, followed by what felt like a hard wall of heat that pushed them farther as they fell, crashing into the gravel rooftop of the next building. Robin tumbled farther than Slade, but he was the first on his feet. He stood and watched the plume of fire that reached high into the night.

There was pain and…. a strange warmth… Robin watched Slade rise as well, silhouetted by the fire as he walked closer to the teen. The hero felt his eyes widen in the shadow of the man, taking in his features, his expression… his face. The last tangible mystery was staring back at him.

Slade gave a sigh through his nose, his face as unreadable as when he wore his mask, looking at the shocked teen. Suddenly, Robin raised his hand, gently brushing his gloved fingers over the strap of the dark eye patch.

"I didn't know," Robin said with a weak voice and nervous breath that could have been mistaken for a laugh or a choke of tears.

Slade gave him a strangely comforting smile as he cupped his cheek in his hand. Normally, that was the kind of affection that Robin abhorred, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to pull away. The removal of one simple thing… one mask… changed everything and yet it changed nothing. There was no doubt that the man before him was Slade… but…

It was an empty feeling. He had assumed that seeing Slade's face would be the answer to that question which he always asked himself. But it didn't. Seeing Slade's face was no more a clue than it was a frustration. Robin couldn't place him, couldn't name him! After all that… After everything… Robin found himself asking an age old question… _Who is Slade?_

He looked into the man's dark eye and gave a sincere expression. "I won't tell." Robin whispered, his voice almost lost to sound the fire.

"I know." Slade responded with a genuine smile, his thumb brushing against the boy's cheek, wiping away a tear that wasn't really there.

And then he tore the hero's mask away.

Robin felt the sting before he comprehended the action. Exposed! Betrayed! It felt as if his heart was suddenly overflowing with blood, a dizzying effect.

For the tiniest of moments, Slade actually regretted his decision. The look on the teen's face was one that did not fit him. It looked too scared, too vulnerable, too young. Slade was not one to believe in sacred or precious things, but he knew then that he had ruined something fragile and important. But he only stood there, watching the hero with an arrogant half smirk.

Time stood still as Robin tried to plan his next move. Was the contract broken? It must have been. They had seen each other's faces. What next, then? Death? Blackmail? Did Slade recognize him? Or was he equally clueless? Was it all over? Everything?

No. The hero's face became blank. The calm before the kill.

Robin crashed his lips hard against Slade's, forcing his tongue inside as his hands wrapped behind the thick neck. He could feel the man smiling as they kissed. What did that mean? Was it good? Bad? His tongue was moving against Robin's, fighting for dominance, like always. Did that mean Robin was safe? Was Bruce safe?

He cried out when Slade ripped his shirt from the back, pulling away the protective fabric and revealing the pale chest and pert nipples, held out even further by the piercings. The villain gave a devil's smile and leaned down, licking the piercings free of the dust that covered their bodies and fiddling with the teen's belt.

Robin watched as his utility belt hit the ground hard, scattering his small arsenal of devices across the rooftop. He thought he felt helpless when his mask was taken, but losing his belt was a new low. He looked at the mess longingly until Slade's hands on his body snapped him back into reality.

Robin pushed his pants down quickly, not even getting the chance to pull them off completely before Slade's body was dragging him down. He spread his legs, straddling the man and feeling the blunt tip, wet with nothing but saliva and the first creamy bead of precome. He braced himself on the broad shoulders and then…

Slade watched as Robin forced himself down on the half-hard cock. His blue eyes were watering with pain and panic while his quivering lips parted in a silent grimace as he moved, letting the villain's cock slide in and out of his body.

Robin cried out in strangled tones, pleas and screams that never formed past his throat. He was moving at the discretion of Slade's hands, feeling every ridge and vein of the man's length pulsing from inside him. He jolted and twitched whenever Slade hit his prostate, but otherwise gave no indication that his body felt pleasure. He kept his eyes down, cast to the side, refusing to acknowledge the maskless stranger.

Slade cupped the boy's cheek in his hand once again, trying to get a better look at that pretty blue; but Robin jerked away, glaring at the ground next to the villain. Slade wouldn't have that.

"No, Robin," he said, jamming his thumb into the boy's mouth and jerking his head to attention. "_You will face me._"

Robin stared into the man's eye, studying it in the unobstructed light. And then he took in the man's face, which was held in a hard and pensive expression, his lips still with the slightest hint of smugness at the corners. He was a handsome and fearsome thing. He was still unreadable and a still mystery. There was no absolution found on his features, no hope or clue for what the future might bring.

Despite everything, the desire to run, to fight, to die, Robin bent forward, buried his face in the crook of the man's neck and kissed his jaw line, tasting the sweat and heat and grime. He let his lips trail over the neck guard before he parted his lips and asked in a miserably pained voice.

"Don't stop."

Slade complied. Pushing his hands under Robin's ass and lifting with more force and letting him fall deeper onto his cock. The hero let out a louder half-cry and shuddered, letting his legs hook behind the villain and breathing hard against the shoulder guard, watching his breath fog up the metal before quickly evaporating away into nothing.

"Don't stop," Robin breathed again, his voice hardly more than an echo of the previous statement. He whimpered when he felt Slade pushing him away, guiding him to lie on his back. Robin bit his lip but complied, finding a bizarre sort of relief when Slade grabbed hold of his legs and positioned them above his shoulders so that each stroke put pressure on the sensitive bundle of flesh inside him.

The villain smirked again, looking down at his lover who stared back in fear and worry, lips already wet and swollen as he chewed them nervously.

Robin could feel the wet heat burning in his eyes, stinging with the desire to abandon his pride and cry. He didn't want Slade to see that. Not when that bastard already wore such a victorious expression. Robin reached his hands out to touch the man's face, letting his fingers brush against the eye-patch before he pulled the villain closer, inviting him into a slow and desperate kiss that did not hide the furious blush on the teen's cheeks as he forced back his tears.

Slade let his tongue slide over Robin's, moving in a slow and gentle pattern that was certainly no comfort to the hero, though he leaned into it anyway, seeking any and all warmth that he could in an attempt to put off the uncertain future.

"_Robin,_" came a voice from his communicator. It was Bruce's. "_I need a report on the underground tip you got from City Hall."_

Slade watched as Robin turned his head, those blue eyes widening at the sound of his mentor's voice, the swollen lips quivering as though they were trying to form words. The hero gritted his teeth and turned away from the communicator, eyes locking back on Slade with a mix of desperation and hate.

"Don't stop." He said a bit more clearly, the pretty blue becoming sharp and demanding as he buried his hands in Slade's hair, clenching it in his fists and dragging the man down for a rough kiss.

The bird suddenly found his voice again, opening his lips for a sharp cry as Slade began to pound inside him. His tortured lips were soon pressed against Slade's once again, parted wide for the invading tongue as they shared the heat and the tension.

"You clench so nicely when your little world is falling apart," a heavy voice chuckled in Robin's ear when they separated. The teen glared and moved a hand between their stomachs, seeking out his erection and pumping with each thrust. "You know as well as I do that they'll come soon… like moths to the flame," Slade grinned, giving Robin a view of the smirk he'd heard and felt countless times but had never actually seen.

Robin clutched wildly at the gravel rooftop, giving tiny growls as they fucked. He didn't speak, but he also refused to back down, answering each of Slade's thrusts with a movement of his hand, each breath with a gasp, each glance with a glare.

"S… Slade!" Robin hissed as he felt the man's cock thicken, building up and then setting loose a wave of cum inside him.

The man kept thrusting, filling Robin with streams of white mess that dripped from between his legs and onto the gravel. The hero let out a muted groan and came as well, his orgasm matching the pattern of the man's last few thrusts before Slade finally softened inside the hero.

Slade pulled away to admire his handiwork.

Robin turned his attention back to the burning building. Off in the distance, he could hear the first sounds of sirens. He silently moved his hand between his legs, feeling the mess left by his enemy and then pulling his fingers back to see firsthand. He laughed sadly as he saw the cum sticking to his fingers and then rested the back of his wrist over his forehead, not at all caring that the mess would drip onto his hair.

"What now?" he asked, eyes unfocused as the flames burned.

Slade sighed and laid next to the teen, close enough so that Robin could feel the heat from his body, but not close enough to touch. He was staring into Robin's eyes, letting himself enjoy the sight for the very first time.

"I thought they would be brown," he admitted, teasing the boy with his lack of answers. "But the blue suits you so well… I can't imagine how they could have been anything _but_ blue."

Robin stared back numbly, taking a moment to run his clean hand over the string that was pressing hard into Slade's forehead, leading to the black eye-patch. "How in the hell did I miss this?" He wondered aloud, giving himself the comfort of a small laugh. "I thought it was a damn mask." The teen's smile faded, melting into a cautious frown, and then he repeated his question. "What now?"

Robin stared at the man's face, trying to read him but knowing full well that he was grasping at straws. Whatever came next couldn't be good. Death, seemed the most humane option, Robin thought. Just as long as Bruce and the other Titans were alright.

Raven's voice came over the communicator. "_Robin, are you there?"_

"_He's not answering."_ Batman responded, not having the decency to hide his impatience.

"_Well, there's trouble, and his tracker says he's in the middle of it." _Raven said quickly. _"Robin? Respond." _

Robin turned back to the communicator, silently pleading that he wouldn't hear the next few words.

"_Robin… if you can hear this, stay put. We're sending help."_

"No," Robin breathed, his eyes growing with fear. He reached for his communicator, but Slade grabbed his wrist and forced it against the gravel. "Don't-! Let me-!"

"What will you do?" Slade asked him seriously, the grey eye focusing hard into the blue.

Robin felt his lips tremble, but he managed to choke out a few words. His offering. If Batman and the Titans could remain untouched, there was only one thing Robin _could_ do…

"A… Anything you say…"

* * *

A.N.: Soooo… Quite a change from the last chapter, eh? How do you feel about the unmasking?

And… Just curious… but does anyone have theories about the villain(s) behind the crimes? _**I**_ know who did it, of course, but I want to know who _**you **_think is behind the stolen Sladebots and the earthquakes. Is it the same person? Different people? Slade? I would love to hear your thoughts!


	18. Chapter 18

Please thank both Linden Mae (who beta'd even though she wasn't feeling well!) and Kayz0orbeam of DeviantArt (who helped me sort through some plot and storyline issues!)  
(Kay, Deviant hasn't been working for me, so I can't see my messages or notes. Hopefully it'll stop being glitchy soon, but if you need anything you can always send me an email).

Chapter 18

* * *

Robin stared into the hard grey eye, letting his hope melt away into nothing. It had all fallen apart so quickly… Everything. The contract, his identity, his _life_… It was all over, wasn't it? He would go with Slade, follow him to an uncertain end for the sake of protecting his friends and family. A horrible sense of déjà vu washed over his body.

"You planned this all along… didn't you?" He asked brokenly, not even moving as the villain released him and stood to his feet.

Slade gave a rare and unpretentious laugh, the kind that scared Robin with its sincerity. And then he pulled back, standing to his feet before tucking himself in and zipping his pants with a smirk. "So you don't know either, do you?" He shook his head slightly and smirked. "Get dressed."

Robin moved as quickly as he could, hoping that Slade wouldn't notice the tiny fumbles as his nervous fingers moved to pull on his pants and assemble what was left of his tattered shirt. He winced at the feeling of the cloth against his bare back. Without sex as a distracter, the cuts and scrapes were far more noticeable.

"Put these on," Slade told the teen as he handed him his belt and mask.

Robin looked up, astonished at the offering, but he bit back his thanks when he realized the items were useless to him. He couldn't fight Slade. Not if he wanted to, not if he tried. He closed the belt around his waist and crushed the mask in his hands.

"Put it on," Slade's voice told him again, the tone a clear indication that the command was not to be questioned.

Robin removed a small container of glue that he quickly smeared on the mask and pushed over his face, transforming himself into the hero he was meant to be and could never be again. He looked up to Slade timidly, thankful that the mask didn't show his fear as easily as his eyes.

"That's my boy," Slade breathed, running his thumb over Robin's lips and earning just the slightest glare from under the hero's mask. He then turned his attention to the sky. "They'll be here soon."

"Should we go, or…" Robin choked on the words and refused to finish them.

"We'll go our separate ways for now." Slade said in a voice that was demanding but soft all at once. He didn't look at Robin, only gazed up at the fire. "No sense in rushing the inevitable farewell, is there?"

Robin's eyes widened under the mask and his vision blurred with the tears. "Y…you mean… I get to say goodbye?"

Slade gave the teen a quizzical look, masked only by his half smile. "I suppose… If that's what you want to _call_ it. I'll be back at the apartment tomorrow night. But I won't wait any longer than that."

Robin bit his lip and nodded, eyes closing tight against the mask as he simply couldn't hold back the tears. It might have been easier to leave without saying goodbye to Bruce and the Titans… but he'd missed the chance to say goodbye too many times in life. He wouldn't refuse the opportunity when it came to him.

"Thank you." He choked out after he had schooled his face into a less pitiful expression. It was only when he bothered to look up that he realized Slade had gone.

The teen took a few deep breaths and pulled out his Titan's communicator.

"I'm alright," he said into the device, "just had a bit of trouble."

"_I'm coming in_," Batman's voice told him. "_Stay where you are._"

"I'm okay." Robin insisted and began to walk toward the edge of the building. "Really."

"_Stay put."_

Robin looked over at the burning building, watching the flames dance up into the sky. "It'll collapse soon," he mumbled aloud as the light from the flames began to blur. He shook his head lightly from side to side, trying to clear his mind of the sudden double-image that was assaulting him. He could hear the groaning of the metal and feel the hum as the vibrations began to transfer into the surrounding buildings.

"Robin!"

The teen stumbled back from the edge, spinning to face Batman.

"I'm alright," he said dismissively, walking over to the Dark Knight with heavy feet. "I'm just tired."

"What happened?" Bruce fumed, gesturing wildly to his ward as if he was the very essence of failure. "Why didn't you call for backup?"

"Because I don't want your help!" Robin spat, feeling his feet betray him as he stumbled again. That wasn't what he meant to say… He wanted to tell Bruce he loved him, and to thank him for all that he'd done. Was he going to fuck that up too? He steadied himself and tried to get his eyes to focus. His head was pounding and his heart was racing, causing a fog of dizziness that he couldn't escape. "Batman…" His eyes turned up to Bruce and he could see the man saying something, only the sound didn't seem to register. No sounds did, actually. And then things began to darken. He could feel his knees giving out and he knew he would hit the ground soon, but he felt a strong pair of arms close around him, holding him close.

Robin groaned lightly at the pain that shot through him. Bruce was holding him tightly, pressing hard against the scrapes and cuts that covered his back. For a very brief time, Robin wondered if he was being hugged and, despite the pain, he tried to lift his arms and return the gesture. He realized then how lonely he felt. He wanted comfort and warmth. Love. And that was the last thing he remembered before the silence and darkness took him.

* * *

Slade watched as the Bat lifted Robin and moved quickly off the rooftop. His wounds were far from fatal, but the stress and anemia were too much for the teen. Slade gave a gruff smile and pawed a bit at his chest, testing the wounds that had all but vanished from his body.

Ah, well. Things were as they should be, _for now_. The Titans and Batman could only hold him as long as they survived. And Slade could wait for their time to end. He was a very patient man. Until then, he smirked, it was business as usual.

* * *

"He's stable now, but he probably won't regain consciousness for a while." Raven told Batman as she walked to the sink to clean her hands of the hero's blood. "You should have brought him to me in the first place. They opened the wounds again as they were cleaning him off. Lucky he didn't bleed to death."

"Thank you," Batman said in a low and humble voice as he stood over the teen, watching over him as he did after every time the hero had been hurt. No amount of training could prevent Richard from the wounds he would receive from fighting crime, and no amount of exposure could desensitize Bruce to the fact that his ward, his child, was in pain.

"He'll need to stay in bed until I have the strength to heal all those wounds properly," the goth sighed. "The dorsal lesions aren't too deep, but there might still be debris beneath the surface that will cause subcutaneous bleeding. He'll need to go on antibiotics to prevent infection. There is also a spiral fracture in his left tibia, a pretty bad one, but that will have to wait too. I'm sorry, this is the best I can do for now."

Batman's lips tightened but he gave a slow nod. "Thank you, Raven," he said.

She nodded and then seemed to hesitate. "Does he speak to you about his personal life?"

"He hardly speaks to me at all," Bruce seemed to chuckle, but his lips stayed in a frown.

They stood in silence for some time, surveying the discomfort that Robin was enduring and, in some way, trying to feel that pain themselves.

"He's changing." Raven said in a soft voice as she moved her hand over the side of Robin's head. "His aura… It used to be so-"

"His aura?" Bruce gave the teen a skeptical look under his mask.

"I suppose it seems strange to someone who can't sense those kinds of things," she mumbled, blushing slightly and casting her eyes to the side.

Bruce made a short sound of agreement, the expression under the cowl remaining gaunt and sober.

"But from someone who _can_ see it… I thought you would want to know." Raven said softly

"You think Robin is becoming evil?" The man asked, almost without the anger behind it.

"No, not at all," Raven turned on him, glaring slightly as though the words had been an accusation. "But he's not himself. His aura flickers with… I don't know. Doubt? Regret? Whatever he's been going through is hurting him, but he won't talk about it with anyone."

"Have you read his mind?"

"No."

Bruce hesitated for a small moment. "Maybe you should…"

Raven gave him a very stern look. "No."

"But if he's in trouble-"

"He would ask for help."

"He's too stubborn and proud to ask for help."

"From _you_, maybe." Raven's stare hardened and her voice thickened, drawing Batman's attention directly to her. Some might argue that the devil himself would be intimidated by The Bat, but the demon's daughter seemed to be able to hold her own against him.

Robin groaned and shifted on the bed, letting out a sharp growl when his skin stretched and the pain moved through his body. His eyes opened weakly and his body stirred, causing more pain.

"No, Robin," Raven soothed, petting his hair. "Sleep."

"I thought you said he would be unconscious." Batman spoke, letting the anger drift away from his voice as his attention was fully focused on the hero.

"He lost a great deal of blood, his body shouldn't let him wake, but I suppose that doesn't mean it's impossible." She gave a sad smile. "Robin is really very fond of doing the impossible."

Bruce gave a small laugh, "Don't I know it."

Robin let out a long painful groan, trying to twist in the bed but Bruce and Raven held him still.

"I'm going to put him to sleep," Raven said in a tired voice as she placed her pale hands over his face and chanted the ancient mantra.

"No!" Robin fought harder, his voice slurring heavily. "You can't!"

"Sleep," she coaxed him, pressing harder as she tried to deepen her concentration.

"Robin, calm down." Bruce told him, his grip a steel trap that held the teen to the bed.

"Sl- stop… please…" Robin begged, his mind blackening once again.

The hands on the teen loosened their grips and gently settled the body back against the hospital bed.

"He's resting now." Raven sighed and wrinkled her nose at the blood that once again covered her hands.

"You should do the same," Bruce ran his hand over the Boy Wonder's arm, trying to comfort him although he knew that Robin was too far gone to feel any sort of soothing words or touches.

Raven gave a short nod, surveying the scene once again. "And you?"

"I'll stay with him."

"What about the girls down at the station? They need to be questioned."

Batman's face was a stone wall as he considered his options.

"And let's not forget the fact that you haven't slept since the earthquakes began." Her eyes darkened. "I'm not afraid to put my leader to bed, so I won't bat an eye to do the same to his mentor."

Cyborg burst into the room with an angry scowl, "You're going to _love_ this. Slade is back at Wayne Enterprises.

"What?" Batman growled, "Has he lost it? It's broad daylight right now!"

"Unless… he knew that you would be busy…"Raven's eyes narrowed as she looked over the sleeping hero. "Was he the one Robin was fighting?"

"We'll talk later," Batman growled as he moved for the door. "Raven, stay with Robin. Cyborg, gather the rest and go after Slade. I'll be at the station if you need backup."

* * *

Robin awoke to the sun setting just outside his window. He gave a small moan and stretched, shrugging away a small kink in his shoulder. Then he felt Raven's hands gently move away from his head and he understood that he hadn't woken up on his own.

"How do you feel?" Bruce asked him, making the young hero turn to look. His mentor was standing there, looking surprisingly human with such a relieved look on his features. He could see it even under the man's cowl.

The teen felt his heart sink as his eyes wandered back over to the sunset. Tomorrow night had come too soon and he'd slept through his last day as a hero. The blue eyes flickered around the room, taking in the sight of his team and the closest thing he had to a father. He would have liked to have more time with them all. He wanted to tell them how much they meant to him and how much he cared… but it would all seem so pointless once he was forced to face them.

He bit his lip, vaguely taking in the sight of his worried teammates looking at him. He would be forced to face them, wouldn't he? He would probably have to face Batman, too. Slade wouldn't have an apprentice that couldn't fight, after all. But what was the point? What could Slade hope to accomplish by taking the hero? Robin felt a queasy feeling enter his stomach. Maybe Slade had no intention to keep him. Maybe he would simply torture him until he gave away every last little secret. The teen felt his jaw clench as he made a resolution. He'd bite his own tongue off before he talked.

"Robin?" Starfire asked with an unsure voice. She was looking curiously at him with her large green eyes while the others wore much more concerned expressions.

Robin wrinkled his nose. "I need a shower so badly I can taste it."

"Good news, then. You're well enough to have one." Raven said, sitting down in a chair and looking exhausted, but there was a small smile of relief playing over her lips. "It's a good thing you're young. You healed up nicely."

Robin accepted the black-clad hand offered to him by his mentor and sat up slowly. He glanced down and felt his heart skip a beat at the image of a hospital gown. Oh, hell. He hadn't cleaned himself after he and Slade had… his heart began to race even faster. Did they know? The blue eyes flickered out the window. How much could they know?

And then his eyes flickered to Raven. She could have read his mind. She had done it before, hadn't she? Had she done it again?

Raven turned to the monitors, watching Robin's heart rate increase. She cast Batman a weary glance and then turned back to Robin. "You're safe now Robin. It's alright… Can you tell us what happened?"

Robin stared up at the girl, trying to reach into her mind and pluck out the thoughts. She only stared back at him with her dark eyes.

"Slade-bot." Robin mumbled, trying to decide how much of the story he could tell without revealing too much. "It had a bomb in its chest."

"Why were you going after a Slade-bot?" Batman cut in, his voice and expression harsh until Raven's glare softened it. "What about the third girl?"

Robin gave an ironic half-smile. Of course Bruce already knew about the girls, he'd probably stopped the earthquakes, saved the world, and had a light supper all while Robin was having his little nap.

"I saw Slade when I was chasing her and… I guess instinct took over. Before I knew it, we were fighting and…"

"And she got away." Batman finished.

"Sorry," Robin mumbled, actually feeling more ashamed than those words credited.

Raven turned slowly to give Batman a seething glare, strong enough to make him shift lightly and clear his throat.

"Well," he said, feeling a shiver of dark energy from Raven's gaze. "She wasn't the only one to get away. There was an entire syndicate. Three girls in every major city of the world: Urð, Verðandi, and Skuld."

"Yeah, it's crazy, dude!" Beast-boy, who had been quiet up until that point, chimed in. "They call themselves Egg-dribble and-"

"Yggdrasil," Raven corrected, trying not to let the livid gaze she had given Bruce transfer over, but the changeling flinched a little anyhow. "Also called The World Tree."

"Tree? Those things are _actual_ roots?" Finally, Robin put two and two together. "Ivy…"

"The Justice League took care of her and is in the process of tracking down all members of the Yggsdrasil Syndicate. Who knew Ivy had it in her?" Bruce said lightly, the tiniest hint of a faraway look in his eyes.

"The tree needed nearly constant nurturing with special soil and water." Cyborg added, noting the look of distress on Robin's features. "Without the girls, it shriveled up within a day and a half. Some buildings need a little work, but at least the earthquakes have stopped."

"A da… A day and a half?" Robin blinked. "Wait… How long have I been asleep?"

"Four days." Raven answered, turning immediately to the monitors as his heart rate spiked. She had a fatigued expression, but she kept her voice very even. "We kept you unconscious for the sake of your body. Some of your wounds were pretty bad and I was still healing the quake victims, so my energy was too low."

"How… how could you?"

"Keep you alive? Oh, yes, how dare I?" She gave him a grumpy look and Robin instantly wanted to bite his tongue.

"No… I didn't mean… but…"He stuttered, trying to make sense of it all. "Has… hasn't anything happened?"

"No, it has been quite ordinary since the earth-shaking has stopped," Starfire said.

"Just the usual bad-guys doing bad stuff. Nothing big." Beast Boy added with a nonchalant shrug, trying to play it cool in front of Batman.

"And Slade?" Robin asked, trying to keep his breath even although his heart-rate was giving away his nervousness.

"He's after something at Wayne Enterprises, but we don't know what." Batman said.

"Batman hasn't been able to capture him." Raven said with a barely concealed smirk as she watched the monitors.

"No," Bruce replied in a flat tone, casting an annoyed glance in Raven's direction. "But his attempts to infiltrate have been unsuccessful. Although, Mr. Wayne _has_ had to transfer more security personnel to this district."

"But the Slade-bots are most effective at the beating of the guards," Starefire added, completely oblivious to the tension in the room and the fact that she had only added to it.

"Slade bots?" Robin paused. Was it possible then that it wasn't Slade they were dealing with, but the person that had stolen the robots?

"Seems like he's trying to update his system," Cyborg started, "but there have been a lot of malfunctions. The bots keep attacking each other."

Well, that cinched it. Whoever was after Slade was also after something at Wayne Enterprises. Robin frowned. Who was it and what did they want? They wanted Slade dead, obviously… And then a very strange thought hit Robin.

Maybe Slade _was_ dead.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that thought. In an odd way, he felt relieved; but there was the underlying fear and anger as well. Slade couldn't just _die_ like that. True… his wounds had been terrible… but he didn't act as if they had been hurting him… not that he _would_, though. That bastard could probably keep a straight face and whistle a happy tune as he was being tortured to death.

But what about the bots attacking each other? Robin's head tilted with wonder. Wouldn't their presence mean that Slade was alive because he would have sent them to fight? Or… perhaps they were merely acting on a previous command.

There was only one way to know for sure…

"What do you think, Robin?" Batman asked him, breaking the teen from his trance.

"Hmm- Er, yes?" he answered, completely oblivious to what he was agreeing to.

"I think it's time we let Robin rest," Raven said, motioning for the team to start heading for the door.

"Right. Come on y'all." Cyborg said, slinging an arm around Beast Boy and Starfire. "We should rest up too. Slade'll probably be attacking again any time now."

"Can't wait," Beast Boy half growled, half whimpered.

Starfire wiggled free and zipped towards Robin's bed.

"I hope you will be feeling better soon! We have missed you!" Starfire chimed joyfully as she threw her arms around him. Robin couldn't help but smile sadly when she leaned in closer and whispered, "Raven says I may not feed you Tamaranian food, but I will sneak you some yuugoroth! It is most good when your body is feeling sore and beaten!"

"Thanks Star, but Raven did a great job. I feel good as new" he said quietly, moving his arms around the girl and giving a light squeeze with his hug.

She gave him one of her effortless smiles and said, "Oh no, I insist," before she dashed out the door behind the boys.

"No dodging that bullet," Batman said quietly with a warm smile as he patted Robin's shoulder.

"You should rest too," Raven said to Batman before she muttered, "Sleep in an actual bed might do _wonders_ for your personality."

"You too," he muttered back, ignoring the shadow of a smirk that flashed across her lips. Sometimes, Raven really enjoyed being around someone that she was allowed to dislike almost as much as she enjoyed being around her friends.

She turned back to her leader with a serious face. "Robin, your body has been healed, but I don't want you doing anything strenuous. If the alarm goes off, _we'll_ handle it. You just get some rest."

"Right," Robin agreed quickly. "_After_ my shower."

Bruce gave a small but genuine laugh as he walked for the door, followed by Raven, who turned back as if she had something to say. Robin waited with a curious expression, but the goth simply shook her head very gently and wished him good night.

* * *

"You left out a pretty piece of information back there," Bruce said quietly to the pale girl as they walked down the hall.

Raven's expression became somber, "You too. But he doesn't need to know just yet."

"I think we're suspecting the same thing here."

"The reason Slade hasn't stolen anything from Wayne Enterprises is because what he's after isn't there?"

"Exactly. And I think that's why he tried to get into the Tower last night. He's looking for Robin."

"Any ideas on the robots?" Raven looked up at him, her eyes the only thing visible from under her hood. "Slade isn't the type to utilize faulty products."

"Not a clue. And we can't analyze the memory banks when they keep blowing up and gutting each other."

"We'll just have to wait then." She sighed.

Bruce nodded with a frown, he hated waiting.

A ghost of a smile passed over Raven's tired face, "So that's where Robin gets it."

* * *

Later that night, when Robin was much cleaner and quite sure that everyone was asleep, he moved quietly through the tower and down into the garage where his R-cycle was waiting. Thankfully, like the Batmobile and T-car, it had a homing device and autopilot so if Robin returned without his bike it wouldn't be far behind him.

He'd had the foresight to disable the alarms for a few minutes while he made his getaway, but he felt a very distinct pang of guilt when the doors closed behind him and he knew he could start his bike without being heard.

It was time to figure things out, he had decided. He wouldn't hide or run from Slade and he wouldn't wait for him to come. He would go to the apartment and… Well, he wasn't really sure what would happen then…

First, he would try to find out if Slade was alive. He knew that much. But if Slade _was_ alive, as Robin suspected he was, then they would have to have a little chat.

He had a very small hope that perhaps Slade didn't know who he was. If he didn't know, then they were still on equal terms as far as bargaining went. But if he _did_ know…

Robin wasn't keen on the idea of being an apprentice again, but it was a distinct possibility that he would have to. And then what? The hero frowned as he turned a sharp corner. The answer came more quickly than he liked.

_And then Bruce will save you._

He snorted in disgust at himself, mostly because that was exactly what he was counting on. He knew Bruce would save him, even if it meant losing Batman. He would save Robin from his own mistakes. Again.

_Daddy Bats_. Isn't that what Slade had called him?

He wasn't childish enough to expect that his friends and family would allow him to sacrifice himself for them, though a particularly prideful part of him wished they would. It was _his_ mistake, after all, and he wanted to be the one to fix it. Pride, he knew, might be the death of him. It was for that reason alone that he couldn't tell his team and the man who was like a father to him what had really happened. He couldn't bring himself to tell them what he had _chosen_ to do, nor what consequences would form from his decisions. He loved and admired them and it was for that very reason that he never wanted them to know what he had done.

His bike rolled to a stop and Robin took off his helmet to look up at the tall building, seeing nothing but a reflection of the city in the mirrored glass. Four days wasn't a terribly long time, Robin found; or at least it wasn't long enough to return things to normal. Although many citizens had been able to return to their homes and work, many parts of the city had unreliable or no electricity. By the looks of the building, the electricity was out.

He walked to the entrance and reached at his belt, grasping nothing but air and finally realizing that he didn't have his other communicator and therefore didn't have a key.

"Damn." He mumbled, remembering that the last time he had it was when he fought Slade and the robot on the roof. He couldn't remember Slade handing it to him along with the belt and mask. Well, at least he lost it before Batman took him. He'd have hated it if the Titans received a call from Slade.

"Well, onto Plan B." he sighed.

The hero reached into his utility belt and quickly picked the lock on the door by activating a security feature. He had been right about the building not having electricity, the halls were pitch black and the elevators were not working. There were always the stairs, Robin thought glumly. Lots and lots of stairs. He grumbled as he picked the lock on those doors too and pulled out his flashlight.

Slightly over halfway up the stairs, Robin spotted something troubling. Blood. Not much of it, just a smear left on what was otherwise a smooth, clean wall. But he found more as he moved up the stairwell. Smears and smudges gave way to drops, which lead to lines, which lead to dried and cracking puddles. By the time he reached that, Robin was running up the stairs, expecting the worst.

The teen skid to a halt when he reached the end of the blood trail, he more or less _had_ to because the staircase had a large hole in it that led to a very nasty drop into an apartment below. He cautiously moved the light around, searching for the answer to his little problem. His eyes soon found a narrow gap that led to yet another room. In his haste, Robin had neglected to pay attention to what floor he was on, but his instincts told him he was in the right place. He pulled out his grappling-gun and fired it into the narrow crevice, giving it a good test-pull before he was satisfied and began climbing.

He had been partly right to think it was Slade's apartment, but he was also partly wrong because there wasn't much left of it. The windows were among the few things left standing and the rest was on the floor in pieces or charred remains.

"Shit…" Robin whispered, swinging the flashlight around the mess, recognizing tiny parts of things and trying to reconstruct the scene in his mind. There had been at least three explosions, he could tell, and the sprinkler system had been activated to prevent the fire from spreading.

He froze when his flashlight ghosted over the spot where they had kept his scrambler. It was in pieces also, but there was one thing that certainly didn't belong there.

Slade's mask. He reached for it carefully, letting his fingers brush over the deep cracks in the surface before he picked it up. The cracks turned out to be deep cuts that went all the way through, only a few tiny slivers of untouched metal managed to hold the mask together.

Robin very carefully set the mask among the ruins and took a step back. What on earth was happening?

"_Guess who's back at Wayne Enterprises?" _Cyborg's voice said over the teen's communicator.

Robin's eyes widened slightly before he made a quick sprint to the elevators, prying them open once again and diving into the pitch-black tunnel.

He _had_ come for answers, after all. It was time to get them.

* * *

Robin arrived before the others and found exactly what he knew would be there: Slade-bots. There were human guards as well, heavily armored and trained to perfection, Robin could tell. He considered staying back from the crowd in hopes of spotting Slade, but a cry of pain of the sound of crushing bones brought him to his senses. The human guards had the advantage of numbers on their sides but the robots were better fighters.

Robin moved quickly, extending his bo-staff and jumping head-first into the fray. He knew the Titans and Batman would be there soon, probably pissed beyond reason that he hadn't stayed in bed like he was supposed to.

After only a few minutes of fighting, he began to notice that more and more of the bots were turning their attention on him, attacking in a very strange sort of pattern while the others held off the guards. They were studying him. Calculating.

And then, as if they just appeared from thin air, a new wave of Slade-bots began attacking the ones Robin was fighting.

"Pull back!" he heard someone scream as a gloved hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled him down the hallway. Robin looked up to find one of the guards, presumably a captain, weaving through the bots with a look of pure determination on his features. And then he let his eyes fly back to the scene of the robots fighting, twisting and slicing against each other as the metal bodies screamed out in protest.

But where was Slade? Robin's eyes darted wildly about, trying to spot the villain's mask. He wasn't there.

"Code Echo, S.R. five. Go! Go!" He heard someone bark and watched as the man holding his arm nodded and then proceeded to drag Robin further down the hall. He knew from experience with Batman what that meant. 'Code E' meant they should evacuate, 'S.R. five' meant that there was a safety-room nearby. The guard obviously knew this as well because he was dragging Robin quite forcefully towards the end of the hall where a thick door stood open in waiting.

Robin began a protest but was stopped cold when he heard an explosion boom from down the hallway. He turned to look, but ended up simply shielding his eyes from the intense light and heat that radiated from the white wall of fire.

"Robin!" the hero turned at the sound of Batman's voice. He was expecting anger, but his mentor's voice was nothing short of fearful. He found out why when the guard holding his arm as thrown into a wall. The teen's head spun to face a black and orange mask, finding a single cold eye staring at him.

"Robin."Slade's voice greeted him rather calmly as he grabbed the hero's cape, threw it over Robin's head and held it in place with a firm arm around the teen's neck.

The hero struggled against the hold, trying to escape the immediate sensation of claustrophobia, but that stopped when he felt something hard press against his head with a familiar click.

"Robin!" Batman yelled again, hints of panic laced his tone as he watched the gun press hard against the side of the teen's head. He began to move forward, acting purely on the impulse to save his ward.

Slade seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, because faster than Bruce could take his first step, the villain was dragging the Boy Wonder down the charred hallway, through the remaining bots as they battled through the flames.

The gun was gone from Robin's temporal and every now and again he could hear a shot fired, followed by the crash of metal to the ground. That didn't seem to do enough, however, because Slade let out a growl as one of the Slade-bots wrapped itself around the man's back, metal claws ripping into the fabric of Robin's cape, leaving small holes that he could just barely see out of. There was another explosion from one of bots that lay broken on the floor, followed by another and another. He could see Bruce behind the flames, moving his cape up to block his face as he charged forward despite the terribly obvious danger.

Suddenly, the view was blocked by a door that swung shut between Robin and the flames. Slade threw the teen's body across the room and turned his attention to the robot on his back, which he promptly grabbed, threw to the ground, and shot once through the abdomen. Robin jumped to his feet, pulling the ripped cape off his head as his eyes locked on Slade once again.

The villain had just enough time to deactivate the bomb before Robin's foot smashed into the back of his neck, sending him lurching forward with a harsh grunt. The hero lifted his leg to kick again, but Slade grabbed his ankle and spun him hard into the wall.

Robin groaned lightly as his mind threatened to black out. He shook away the darkness and watched as Slade punched commands into a control-panel next to the door. Robin felt a sense of dread crawl into him as he heard the thick metal rods locking the door and trapping them inside. This feeling only intensified as Slade turned to him with a haggard stance.

"Stand." Slade told him in a cold, flat voice as he pointed the gun directly between his eyes.

Robin, with eyes narrowed, did.

"Hands in the air."

He complied once again, watching as Slade walked closer to him, using his free hand unclasp and remove his utility belt while the other kept the gun centered between his brows.

"We won't need this," Slade muttered very quietly as he threw aside the scrambler. He then lifted the gun to a far corner of the ceiling, aiming at the lone security camera and firing until there was nothing left of it.

The villain tucked the gun into his belt and turned, his back facing Robin as he knelt back down to the robot, pulling something out from its head and smashing it under his foot.

"There. Now we can talk freely." He turned back to the teen and folded his arm over his chest with a hidden smirk. "And I _do_ think we should have a talk."

Robin glared back, considering his options and deciding he didn't like any of the outcomes.

"You don't agree?" Slade asked, feigning concern as he moved closer and ran his hands up Robin's arms. "You seemed so _excited_ to say goodbye."

"And I have… So what now?"

Slade paused, his eye looking curiously at the teen. "Have you? I think I would have recalled a _farewell_ from you. Or is it perhaps that you misunderstood me?"

"What do you mean?" the hero eyed the villain suspiciously. "I wasn't-"

"I don't like to repeat myself, Robin. But I suppose I will for your sake, if not my own. I have _absolutely_ no interest in you as an apprentice."

"So you plan to blackmail me?" Robin said with an accusatory glare that made Slade laugh.

"With _what_? I don't know your true identity any more than you know mine." He shook his head in mock disapproval, as if Robin should have known that all along.

The teen's face turned a fast color of red. It was easy to find insult in that gesture, but the hero was too overwhelmed with the man's confession. "You're bluffing," he said, not willing to believe that Slade would expose his own weakness so carelessly unless he had bigger plans in the works. "What are you after?"

"Been by the apartment lately?" Slade asked with an ironic tone. "I'm after whoever did _that_."

"Then why are you trying to kidnap me?" Robin spat, moving his arms to push Slade away but finding that the man wouldn't allow it.

"I was trying to _warn_ you," Slade hissed, pushing Robin flat against the wall and delighting in the small gasp emitted from the teen; it was far from an intentional sound, but that was precisely what made it so enjoyable. "If they are targeting me, who do you think they'll be after _next_?"

Robin swallowed his pride with some difficulty and met the man's gaze. "They know about us?"

"Our identities? Or the fact that we have been _fucking_ each other?"

"B-both."

"Well, by _happy_ coincidence, it's very likely that they _do_ know both. I can't imagine that you had the sense to turn on your scrambler before you jumped me on the rooftop."

Robin's lips curved into a tiny sneer but he remained silent, confirming the man's suspicions.

"Although," Slade murmured, perhaps more to himself than to Robin, "They did try to take the scrambler, so there is a possibility that they don't know."

"Or that they want hard evidence to blackmail us with."

"You're really on that blackmailing kick, aren't you?" Slade said with a light chuckle. "Poor thing. I suppose that's your biggest worry, where as I only have to make sure to stay alive."

"And speaking of that, why _aren't_ you dead?" Robin's gaze intensified and his hands moved to press hard against the man's chest, testing for wounds that had long ago vanished.

"That's getting rather personal." Slade replied with a casually husky tone and a smirk. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Why not? The contract is broken."

"_That_ is one particular that I wanted to discuss with you. We've seen each other's faces, but our identities are still unknown. Depending on your interpretation of our agreement…"

"We may still be under contract." Robin finished; his eyes wide as he felt the air leave his lungs in a rush. "Wish I'd known _that_ before."

"Of course, this is something we _could_ have discussed much earlier, if you had shown up to the apartment."

"Well, I was a little unconscious at the time," Robin gave an exhausted laugh, letting his eyes lower slightly to find that his hands were still on Slade's chest. He discretely pulled them away and frowned. "It can't last, though. One of us will find out about the other soon enough."

"Would you like it to last?" Slade asked him, his eye burning into Robin with venomous curiosity. "Because there is always the possibility of a _new_ agreement."

The hero stared back at the villain, lips parting just slightly as he tried to find a voice. He swallowed once at his suddenly dry throat and demanded, "I want your word that you will not hurt the Titans or Batman."

"No." Slade snorted.

"You know what I mean_,_" the teen glared. "I want you to promise that any information you discover, such as weaknesses and identities, cannot be used for personal advantage. That includes the sale of information to third parties."

"Now _that_ I will agree to. No information learned through or in light of our meetings can be used with malicious- _or heroic_- intention. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Robin said quickly, his eyes flickering as he thought of an important detail "And this includes the fact that we are sleeping together."

"Naturally. Our secret remains _our_ secret. Anything else?"

"Yeah," Robin wet his lips nervously and looked Slade in the eye. "When we find who is after us, you must agree not to kill them."

Slade's posture stiffened while a hard eye studied Robin meticulously. "You do realize what they could do if they find out, don't you? Everything you're afraid of now and maybe more if they have the stomach for it."

"I know," said Robin grimly.

"And you're willing to risk your life as a hero for the lives of a dangerous and sociopathic group of thieves and murderers?"

"Look who's talking," the teen said darkly. "But I'm serious." Robin knew, despite everything that he'd done and the wrong choices that he had made, that he did not want to be responsible for murder. It was the first thing Bruce had taught him and the first rule he swore to obey. All lives, even _bad lives_, deserved protection. "I won't agree to the other terms unless you agree to that one."

"You already have… But… for the sake of argument… What if I offered you something else?"

"You can't offer me anything that-"

"I will never kill a member of the Titans if I am granted permission to kill them."

Robin froze. "You… If you wanted to kill any of the Titans, you'd have done it already."

"I have yet to really _want_ to kill a Titan. But there are always offers, Robin. Count your blessings that I'm a pricey man and so far no one is willing or able to meet my prices."

"You're bluffing."

"I assure you, I am not. I've had the most offers for Beast Boy, but you have had the highest bidders. Now choose. Your friends or your enemies. Who would you rather see dead?"

"I- I can't choose something like that!"

"Keep in mind that, someday, the paycheck _will_ be large enough." Slade hissed, running his hand up Robin's chest and looping his fingers in the long dark hair and letting the strands fall back into place. "Are you confident that you can stop me when I come to kill one of them? _All_ of them?"

Robin held his breath, studying the cold gray that stared back at him, waiting for an answer that he was not prepared to give. Somehow, his mouth formed words. "Batman too."

"Agreed."

The hero felt his hand meet Slade's as they shook on the deal; his eyes looked down, shocked to see a confirmation of the words he hardly realized he'd spoken. What had he just done?

Robin watched the hand pull away and for a moment he swore he felt his very soul leave with the sturdy grip. He had, for all practical purposes, traded the lives of others to save his friends. He could hardly call that a losing gamble, but he could also not deny the feeling of complete emptiness that flooded him.

It was, in some ways, worse than losing his mask. He felt as if he had lost his identity all over again, but in a much more personal and permanent manner. Heroes, he knew, were never supposed to bargain with lives. But he just had. What did that make him?

Suddenly a rough pair of lips pressed against his, making Robin jump from the initial contact but desperately melt into it when the surprise passed. He wanted so badly to forget what he'd just done but the thoughts would not leave. He crossed a line that heroes were never meant to cross and he was now in unfamiliar territory. And he knew that he couldn't go back.

He forced his lips harder against the villain's, wrapping an arm behind the man's back and grabbing a fist-full of the thick white hair. He wanted it to hurt and after a moment he knew he had succeeded because Slade's thumbs were pressing against his nipples, roughly caressing the metal bars in retaliation. Robin only groaned, pulling the man's hair as he forced their mouths together in a kiss so deep that it hurt. Pain, he found, was good. It was the only thing strong enough to make his mind go blank. The only thing that allowed him to forget the evil thing that he had just done.

Despite the hard grip on his hair that tried to drag the villain's mouth back up to the kiss, Slade moved his lips downward, trailing kisses and bites through the red uniform until his mouth reached the green and his hands moved quickly to pull down the trousers.

Robin gave a thirsty growl when he felt the wet heat of Slade's mouth roll over his cock, but the pleasure was not enough to distract him. He let his fingers twist and tangle in the white hair before forcing the man's head closer while his hips thrust forward, burying his erection into the man's mouth and throat.

The teen had expected retribution for his roughness. Hell, he'd welcomed it. But Slade only gave a hard chuckle that sent pleasing vibrations through Robin's body. The boy sneered, knowing that Slade wouldn't even allow the comfort of pain to a fallen hero. He wanted Robin to feel everything, the pleasure, the emotion, the sensation that something inside was breaking apart into nothing.

He kept his eyes locked on the single gray eye, glaring into it while he moved in a hard and violent pattern. Slade only endured it, never breaking eye contact while the teen damn well fucked his throat.

It should have been empowering to see the villain on his knees, but Robin found no victory in that view. Slade had won. He'd beaten him. Dragged him down to _that_ level. And he'd done it all without real force. Robin could have refused that offer. But he didn't.

One brisk movement of Slade's hand later, Robin felt a finger entering him. There was only one, but it stung as it moved, leaving a burning feeling as the dry appendage made its way towards his prostate. Robin did his best no to gasp, but his body doubled over, legs shaking as he came into Slade's mouth with a helpless cry.

The teen opened his eyes, breathing hard as he felt Slade's tongue cleaning the last of his orgasm. His hands grasped at the man, digging his fingers into the white hair while his other hand clung to the thick shoulder. His body gave one final shudder and Robin allowed himself a tiny expression of hate and pain and regret before he moved back against the wall and once again met Slade's eye with a hard glare.

The villain gave a cruel smirk before pulling up the green trousers and tucking Robin inside them.

"Slade Wilson," he said as he stood to his feet, his mask held in his hand and a deadly, calculating expression on his face. "That's my name."

* * *

A.N.

A new contract means new rules. So far, I don't think Robin's really liking the setup.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

**First **off: please accept my apology for the lateness of this chapter.

**Second**: Because this chapter is very long, it has been split into two parts. Both parts are on this chapter release, but you will notice a "PART 1" and "PART 2" to help you keep track in your reading. This is because Sladomasochism is meant to be a smut-fest and I therefore feel that every chapter should have a respectable (ha!) amount of vitamin C. There is more about that in the bottom A/N, **but if you only care about the smut, **(and it's okay if that's the case)** then by all means, skip to the end and get your vitamin fix!** I don't want my readers to get scurvy.

**Third**: Because everyone is super busy this time of the year and even super awesome proof-readers need a break, this chapter has not been beta'd.

Sorry again and enjoy the drama of this chapter. Slade's a dick, Robin's _is_ Dick, Batman's emotionally constipated, and Raven is… well… you'll see.

* * *

Robin swallowed hard at the lump in his throat as he glared at the man in front of him.

Slade Wilson.

How was he supposed to react to that? Answer with his own name? Hell, they why not Bruce's. Or Barbra's? Or the whole fucking JLA?

The punch came faster than even the teen himself realized, but somehow Slade stopped Robin's fist from crashing into his chin.

"Lousy shot," Slade tsked. "I expect better from you."

Robin gave him something better in the form of a hard kick to his knee. There was a popping sound, but the man punched him across the face before the teen could see if he'd done real damage.

Robin shook away the pain and growled, steadying himself on his feet and preparing for another attack.

"Such fury," Slade said lightly as he moved his head to avoid a kick. "What happened to the composed and righteous hero?"

Robin gave a strangled snarl, extending another kick that barely grazed the man's armor. There was little chance he would win in a fight against Slade, but he kept fighting, hardly bothering to dodge the defensive attacks thrown his way just for the hell of it.

He didn't want to stop fighting. Truthfully, he didn't know if he _could_. The anger and the disgust and the regret were all boiling inside him, burning him alive. If he couldn't rid himself of that pain, then he would share it with the man he hated most.

There was a shrill sound from a device on Slade's belt and the villain gave an absent sigh.

"Time's up, Robin," he said, moving his fists and legs in a surprise attack that sent the teen reeling across the small room. "But I'll leave you with a parting gift. _Two_ of them, in fact." He leaned over the robot and pulled a small device from its chest.

Robin's eyes opened and he gave a soft groan, the wave of nausea told him that he had a concussion and he fell backward when he tried to stand.

"Here," Slade said, calmly dropping a small device into the boy's lap. "It's only temporary, but try not to lose it."

Robin blinked and took the thing into his hands, his eyes focusing just enough for him to realize that it was a communicator.

"And this," Slade told him, placing something next to Robin. "It will detonate in two minutes unless you can deactivate it."

The teen stared at the bomb for a long moment before he mumbled loudly.

"You're such a fucking ass."

"I know." Slade hummed, his voice telling the teen that he was smirking. "Spread the word."

Robin quizzically looked at the bomb, studying the wires and switches when a there was a sudden assault of sound on his ears. He glanced up to find the door was open and hell was waiting on the other side.

The chaos wasn't slow to creep inside the room and the teen coughed at the abundant wall of dust and smoke.

"Robin!" He heard Bruce yell, his voice haggard and desperate as he was held back by some very persistent Sladebots. The Dark Knight saw the bomb and began pushing his way through.

"_Concentrating_." His sidekick said in a slightly annoyed voice as he continued to study the bomb, trying to figure it out before it went off.

"Just throw it!" The man growled, crashing his fist into a metal mask.

_Throw it where? _Robin thought and snorted. The only place to throw it would be the hallway where Batman currently was and where Slade was heading. It didn't occur to the teen that throwing it into the hall was precisely what Bruce had meant.

"Tick Tock, Robin." Slade said maliciously as he passed the Batman with a small glare. The black-clad hero could only growl, his hands and legs occupied with the robots.

When Robin dared to take another glance, Slade was gone and there was only one Slade-bot whole enough to fight Batman. How much time was left? He wondered that as his fingers wrapped around a tiny orange wire and pulled until the thin copper thread was exposed and severed.

The sound of the last Slade-bot crashing into a wall was the last thing Robin remembered before he went tumbling. At first, his fuzzy mind told him that he had failed and that the bomb had exploded; his body tightened in anticipation of the pain that never came. Then he realized that he was being held tightly by a pair of thick arms.

Batman.

"I got it," he said a bit sharply as the fog began to clear from his brain. "You can let go."

"No." Bruce said back, his voice hardly more than a timid growl as his arms wrapped tighter around the teen.

And then the sidekick realized how badly his mentor was shaking. He was afraid.

_Batman_ was afraid.

"Bruce," the teen soothed very gently, his voice little more than silence. "I… I'm okay."

The man nodded, but his unsteady grip only held tighter. "I was so afraid he'd killed you," Batman whispered in a worn-down voice that told Robin just how afraid he was.

Richard hesitated at first but then he shifted to move his arms around his mentor's shoulders, hugging him closely. It hadn't occurred to him that the battle outside the room could have been just a terrible as what had occurred inside.

"I'm okay," he repeated softly.

"Why didn't you stay at the Tower?" the man suddenly growled as he grabbed onto the teen's arms, pushing him back just enough to look at his swollen face.

"I…" Robin began, looking his hero directly in the eyes as he had done countless times before, but feeling every ounce of his guilt in the gaze. "I'm sorry," he choked, his breath shaking and his eyes burning. He tried to stop himself, but the stare from his mentor broke his resolve instantly. In a last ditch effort to prevent the inevitable, Robin twisted his head away from the man's gaze, trying to block the shame he found in the dark eyes.

But it was too late.

Robin let out a low whimper as he felt the thick tears slide down his cheeks. He couldn't stop it or hide it, he could only sit there awkwardly hiccupping out little sobs while Batman stared at him in what Robin could only assume was bitter disappointment. It wasn't the worst thing that had happened to the Boy Wonder that night, but breaking down and sobbing all over a person you admired and wanted respect from was a far cry from what he really wanted out of life.

"Damn kid," Bruce mumbled very gruffly, once again pulling his ward into his arms with a shaky but protective embrace.

Swallowing his pride, Robin returned the gesture, letting his fingers dig against the hard black costume of the man who had taught him everything it was about being a hero. He bit his lip in a vain attempt to stop crying, but the pain did nothing for him and only made it harder to breathe.

"As long as you're safe," Bruce tried to comfort him. "That's all that matters. Just as long as you're safe."

* * *

The hours after the attack on Wayne Enterprises felt like days. Robin and Bruce _both_ took a moment to compose themselves before they began to help with cleanup. It was decided that the mangled Slade-bots would be brought back to the Tower for examination, held with the few others being kept in Robin's workroom. It was also decided that all of Wayne Enterprises extremely valuable or dangerous projects would be relocated outside of Jump. Robin didn't like it. He wanted to think that he and his team were strong enough to keep the city safe, but their current track record said otherwise.

The teen gave a heavy sigh and looked around his now packed study. Large gray boxes lined the walls, some already bore labels, but only a few because there had simply not been enough time to categorize everything neatly. Hanging on the walls, partially blocked by the boxes, were hundreds of newspaper clippings all asking the same thing: Who is Slade?

The hero made an irritated glare at the papers. Who indeed?

"Penny for your thoughts," Raven's raspy voice said, making Robin jump and turn. "Did I scare you?"

"No… I just…" the boy watched Raven's left brow rise and he knew he was caught, "Yeah… a little. I was just thinking."

The pale girl turned her attention to the newspapers and frowned at them. "I know it's frustrating. But we'll figure it all out someday. He can't hide forever."

Robin nodded, frowning once again at the papers and wondering if anything could be kept a secret forever.

* * *

"This is the last of it," Cyborg said as walked in with a haggard sigh, followed closely by the rest of the team and Batman.

"Dude, I am so pooped." Beast Boy moaned as he leaned his head against a stack of boxes and let his tongue roll out.

"Yes, I also must use the throne room." Starfire chimed in. "And then I look forward to a bountiful rest."

"You guys go ahead," Robin said as he lifted one of the boxes and peered inside. "I'm going to get started here."

"You should really get some rest," Raven advised him, glancing a bit at the aura surrounding Bruce.

"For once," the man began as he stared at his ward, "I agree with Raven. You need your rest, especially after the night we had."

"I'm fine," Robin shrugged. "I _did_ sleep for four days straight, after all."

"Then you leave me no choice," The Batman stated matter-of-factly as he pulled out a bat-com and held it to his ear. "Sorry to disturb you," he said into the device after a moment of steep silence. "No, no, everything is fine now, but Robin won't go to bed… Yes, of course."

Batman looked back at his sidekick and began to hand him the communicator. Around them, the Titans watched in cautious fascination. What could the hero be doing that would convince the mighty Robin to go to bed? Was the communicator going to spray out sleeping-gas? Shoot a dart? Explode into a group of ninja that could put Robin to sleep with a single well-placed pinch?

"Hi Al…" Robin said with a strange hint of endearment and guilt.

Four pairs of eyes glanced back and forth between Batman and Robin, noting the smug look under the black cowl and the defeated look from their leader.

"Yeah… I'm just not- yeah… I know… Alright… yes... I'll tell him… Love you too." Robin closed the communicator and handed it back to Bruce with a glare. "That's cheating."

"That's winning."

"He has insisted that you bring me a glass of warm milk. Remember to cook it on the stove stirring counter-clockwise only."

"Ahh, the burden of victory," Bruce said airily as he motioned for Robin and the others to exit the room.

The team followed the silent cues without question, deciding that the week had already been too eventful and that any chance for rest should be accepted with gusto.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Raven walked into the kitchen and her eyes widened. She considered backing away before the man saw her, but he turned and raised an eyebrow.

"New robe?" Batman asked, looking over the terrycloth and _not_ suppressing a smirk.

"I didn't think you would _actually_ make him warmed milk," she shot back, pretending that she didn't feel a mad blush crawling up her cheeks. She smelled the air and wrinkled her nose. "Not very good at it, are you?"

Bruce stirred a tad more furiously but the smell of burned milk soon thickened. He swore and dumped it down the drain, setting the pan in the sink along with three others that had been previous attempts.

"If I may," Raven offered and Bruce gladly stepped aside.

A few minutes later, Raven poured the gently steaming milk-tea into two mugs and put a cover on the pan to keep the rest warm.

"Here, sit down," she told him as set the mug in front of him and motioned to the stool.

"What is it?" Bruce eyed the pale yellow concoction with a slight hint of suspicion.

"Valerian root. You'll sleep like a baby. Man up and drink it." She delivered a small glare over the rim of her own mug and Bruce hesitantly took a sip and balked at the taste.

"You actually _like_ that?" he gasped, watching as she took a long, calm sip.

"I told you to _drink_ it. Not _enjoy_ it." She said, holding the warm cup in both hands and smirking just a tiny bit. Oh, the fun they had together.

Not to be outdone, Bruce brought the cup to his lips and downed the rest of the drink. "Never become a chef."

"Wasn't planning on it," Raven said dryly. "The rest in the pot is for Robin. He'll have a hard time sleeping tonight."

"Let me guess, his _aura_ is _restless_," he said airily, sweeping a hand through the air dramatically.

The girl's piercing eyes narrowed just a bit. "Yes. And he's not the only one. Care to tell me what's got you so bothered?"

"Not particularly," Batman said as he stood to his feet and turned towards the stovetop.

The girl's face became serious and her gaze softened. "All pretenses of mutual hate aside, if you need to talk, I'll listen."

Bruce poured the liquid into a third mug and gave Raven a sideways glance. "Thank you, Raven" he said as he moved toward the door. "I'll keep that in mind."

Raven smiled into her tea. Like father, like son, she supposed.

* * *

Robin wrapped a towel around his waist and answered the door a bit reluctantly.

"Hi," he said in a rather small voice. Bruce handed him the mug and the teen's expression brightened somewhat. "I wouldn't have told on you if you skipped the milk," he said as a smile broke through the melancholy.

"Don't thank me yet, Raven made it," the man smiled back and made a motion asking for permission to enter.

Robin stepped aside with a short nod and closed the door, sensing the need for privacy. He smelled the cup and wrinkled his nose immediately.

"Go on and drink that," Batman said, motioning to the tea and giving an ironic sort of smile. "Consider it punishment for sneaking out."

"Adding salt to the wounds, I see," Robin said lightly, bringing the cup to his lips and chugging the drink in the same manner Bruce had done moments earlier. The taste matched his mood and he couldn't help but gag as he pulled the cup away from his lips and swallowed the last of it with considerable difficulty.

"That ought to even the score, I think." Batman joked as he gazed out the window at the not-too-distant city lights. He gave a nearly indistinguishable sigh and began to speak, "I sometimes wonder…" Bruce turned back to the teen, the shadows drowning the light from his eyes and leaving only a ghastly silhouette, "if you chose this life for yourself or if I forced you into it."

Robin looked at his mentor with a raised brow. "I chose it for myself."

"You were so young, though. And very hurt. You didn't need too much persuasion." Batman sighed again, only far more audibly. "By letting you join me, I took away your childhood."

"I'm pretty sure Tony Zucco did that." Robin said with a small and very bitter smile that Bruce returned in the same fashion. "You saw too much of yourself in me, maybe. But you're not to blame for my choice to avenge my parent's death. I would have done it one way or another."

"Yes, I suppose you would have," Bruce finished, letting the conversation drop off into an eerie silence before he picked it up again with an unusual tension in his voice. "But now I think you can stop."

"Stop what?" Robin asked, his eyes growing wide as he looked at the closest thing to a living father that he had.

"Being Robin…" Bruce pulled back his cowl and looked the teen in the eyes. "Richard, I want you to stop fighting crime."

The strained silence returned with thicker tension and the heroes stared at one another, both unwilling to back down.

"_Why?_" Robin finally asked, clenching his fists and thanking his lucky stars that his mask hid the hurt in his eyes.

Bruce's jaw tightened in thought as he tried to pick the right words. He knew it would be impossible to do so. "It's getting too dangerous. The criminals-"

"You mean Slade?" Robin's voice became slightly colder and his eyes narrowed.

"In particular, yes. I don't like that he's taken such an interest in you."

"What?" Robin scoffed, "First he's not a threat and now he's _too dangerous_ for your little _sidekick_?"

"Don't misunderstand me. I know that you are a very capable hero. But you're still young. You can't possibly know what men like Slade will do to get what they want. I trust you to handle those things, Richard. But I don't want you to have to."

"I don't _have_ to, Bruce. I _choose_ to." Robin tried to stay calm but he could hear his voice rising and feel the flush red that crawled over his cheeks. "And when difficult choices come along, I _make_ them. Or had you forgotten what I did when he tried to force me to become his _apprentice_?"

"And _that_ is the very thing I'm afraid of," Bruce shot back, not realizing that his voice was climbing also. "What happens when the criminal doesn't care if you live or die? What then? What will you do when you have nothing left to _barter_ with?"

"I won't barter then. I'll fight. That's what _you_ would do, isn't it?" Robin sneered.

"It isn't about me, this is about you and your choice-"

"I can make my _own_ choices," the teen hissed.

"Oh, obviously," Bruce motioned vaguely to the teen's chest.

"Oh? So now we're going to discuss my nipple piercings? That's great. Just great."

"Keep your voice down," Bruce said, his volume matching Robin's.

"What? Does that make you uncomfortable? Nipple?" The teen's voice grew ever louder, "Nipple!"

"And you wonder why I think that you're not _mature_ enough to handle being on your own!"

"Said the man who comes home to a butler in an otherwise big _empty_ house!" Robin growled. "Does he still tuck you in too?"

"That's pretty big talk for a _kid_ that doesn't _pay the bills_." Batman stepped closer, subconsciously trying to intimidate the teen.

"I could start," Robin spat back, unaware that he was sticking out his chest a bit more proudly than he had intended. "Or are you afraid to lose that one last thing you can still hold over me?"

"Try me."

"Likewise. You think I can't keep this up without your help?"

"That's exactly what I think."

"Good! I'd like to prove you wrong on this point too!" Robin yelled and then motioned to the door. "No, if you don't mind. I'm going to wash out a _foul_ taste from my mouth and go to bed."

"I'll tell Alfred not to expect you for holidays," Bruce said with a sneer as he walked towards the door. "Not that you've come the last few years."

"Tell _Alfred_ he's welcome here!" Robin yelled as the door was closing. If Batman said anything in reply, it was lost with the closing doors and the teen never heard it. He turned for the bathroom with a glare. "Good riddance."

* * *

"Didn't go so well, hmm?" Raven asked as she morphed out of the shadows next to Bruce.

"Not now," the man replied as he made his way towards his jet.

"You're not flying home now," she informed him with a hard gaze. "You are far too exhausted."

"And I suppose my _aura_ told you that?"

"That and the fact that you're sloppy when you're tired. You haven't even noticed that your cowl is off, have you?"

A black-gloved hand shot to the top of Bruce's head and the man gave a quick swear.

"I already know, Bruce." Raven smirked, glad that she'd been able to stop the man dead in his tracks. "I just happened to discover your identity it the last time that I read Robin's mind. I've known for years."

"Good of him to let me know." The man sneered and began marching towards the jet again, pulling on his cowl with determination.

"He doesn't know I found out," Raven continued, moving quickly to block the man's path. "And I have no intention to tell anyone."

"How kind," Bruce growled, attempting to push past the girl but she remained in his path. "Raven…"

"You'll regret it if you leave now," she told him with a very sturdy glare. "Both of you will."

"It's obvious I'm not welcome here. Robin has made his choice."

"And what about you? I didn't realize you were the kind to go out without a fight."

"I think I've had enough fighting with my ward for one night, thank you."

"On that note," she said, once again moving into Batman's path. "What did you two fight over, anyway?"

"I want him to stop fighting crime."

Raven raised an eyebrow and said very clearly, "small wonder why he argued against that."

"You don't understand either. You're all too young. For Christ sake, you're practically _children!_"

Raven swung her arms and latched them behind Bruce's neck, using her magic to lift her body to the level of the man's lips which she roughly pushed against her own in a bold kiss.

"Children?" she asked in a low voice as their lips parted with a gasp. Her lips curved into a subtle smile, devious yet honest in the way that few women could maintain. "We're not as childish as you like to think."

* * *

Slade gawked at the glowing screen. If there was one thing that he _hadn't_ expected to see on his spy cameras, it was a pair of lovebirds making out in the hallways of Titan's Tower. Well, one bird, one flying rat, but Slade didn't want to be picky.

He had successfully hidden cameras and infiltrated the Tower without the slightest bit of detection. They had been built inside the Slade bots, mostly, and transported with the pieces of evidence from Wayne Enterprises to Titan's Tower. He had intended them to be used to find out the reason behind Robin's absences, but they now served a very different purpose. It had been so easy that Slade almost suspected that they were onto him. He was even slightly disappointed that they _weren't_, but that would change as soon as the little devices disabled the alarm system and he would be able to make his way into Robin's room undetected.

He chuckled as he looked at the screen once Raven began to speak between rather audible kisses.

"_I'm only using you, you know."_ Raven told Batman as her hand ran up his costumed chest, nails scraping against the bat insignia. _"I hope you're alright with that."_

Batman didn't answer and he certainly didn't object; soon they were gone from the hallway into a room that Slade could only assume belonged to Raven.

"Pity," Slade murmured to no one in particular as the door closed and his little device was abandoned to an empty hallway. He had a feeling that the hero's cowl would be coming off during their little tryst and he certainly wouldn't have minded seeing it happen.

Ah, well. He would just have to wait for a little birdie to tell him.

* * *

"You must very be tired."

Robin bolted up from his bed with something akin to a snort, growl, and gasp. He then gave a fairly convincing impression of a drowning fish as he managed to point at the man in his room, during which he spouted some nearly nonsensical gibberish that sounded something like, "You- How did- What the-Sl-But," and then he finally finished with a far more logical, "Are you crazy?"

Slade smirked from behind his mask. "No," he answered quite thoughtfully. "I was a little bored, though, so I decided to drop by. I'm rather glad that I did, too," his steely eye wandered down the teen's body and settled between his legs. "The view is more than worth the trip."

Robin felt his cheeks burning when he realized that he hadn't bothered to put on pajamas after his shower and the towel that had been around his waist was currently lying carelessly across his bed. He felt somewhat violated by the comment, but he refused to show his discomfort by covering himself.

Slade chuckled lightly and looked around the room, studying it. It was extraordinarily plain and very practical. It hardly looked like a bedroom at all; there was too much unused space, too many bare spots on the walls. The most personal looking thing in the whole room was a punching bag hung high on a ceiling. Slade had never seen Robin as a very publicly sentimental creature, but he found it strangely disappointing that the teen didn't at least have some posters tacked to the wall or photos lying around. Shouldn't there have been something- _anything_- that demonstrated his ability to be a human as well as a hero?

"What are you looking at?" the teen growled from the bed.

"Your room," Slade responded with a neutral tone. "It's rather… _boring_. Isn't it?"

"What were you expecting?" Robin scowled. "I didn't really come to this city to _decorate_. I came here to protect people." His scowl deepened at that remark. He _had_ come to protect others. But the agreement he made earlier didn't come close enough to doing that. He expected Slade to point that out, to rub it in his face, but the man graciously seemed to ignore that opportunity to be a thorn in the hero's side by pestering him about something else.

"But one would hardly know that it was _you_ who came. There is nothing here that differentiates your room as your own- other than your stubborn ambiguity when it comes to identity. You always seem to present yourself as just a _thing_ behind a _mask_."

"That's a pretty bold thing to say, especially because you're wearing a mask too."

"Right," Slade said with a subdued sort of amusement as he reached up and removed his mask. His spare hand pushed back the strands of white hair that had fallen over his forehead before he returned his gaze back to the teen with patient expectation. "And yours?"

Robin delivered a short little glare and remained still, a silent protest to the man's expectation.

"No? That's fine. But you know as well as I do that it's pointless to hide it. I won't forget that pretty blue any time soon." Slade returned his attention back to the room and smirked. "So plain… but I know you well enough to guess that you haven't done away with your past. Let me think… You wouldn't leave it in Gotham. You need it close by. Your memories are something you want to look at when you need it… and something you need to hide when you don't want to look…" He chuckled and looked back to the teen with a smirk. "You have it archived, don't you? Just like evidence from a crime scene. You box it up and place it with other things that are too dangerous to be kept unguarded."

Robin felt his anger rising up again and he knew that he wanted a fight. Slade seemed to have sensed that as well because his body was already held in a waiting stance by the time Robin made it to his feet.

"Control yourself," Slade hissed, obviously tiring of Robin's explosive temper as the teen launched a rather poorly thought-out attack.

Robin felt Slade's hand close around his wrist, pushing his attack away with such ease that it made it seem almost effortless. His kick was blocked in much the same manner, as was every proceeding attack.

"If you're going to fight me, I expect you _really_ _fight_ _me_." Slade growled disapprovingly, brushing away another less than threatening assault.

Robin glared, but he knew he was holding back. He couldn't explain _why _he was doing it; he just knew that his intentions did not match his actions. Was it anger? Yes, but it was more than that. Guilt. He felt guilty. Stained. And for some strange and unidentifiable reason, he expected that the mental feeling would dissipate if only a physical feeling would replace it.

Slade, unfortunately, had no intention of playing along. Just like before, he was egging Robin on, not giving him the absolution he desired, that pain and the punishment which could take away the feelings of disgust and reproach. The teen growled as his fists were held against the wall; he tried kicking, but that didn't work either because Slade simply pressed his body against Robin's.

"I will release you when you are calm." Slade stated rather coolly, trying to give the teen a proper glare despite the close distance.

The younger man struggled wildly at first, hissing out vulgarities and trying to throw the larger man off of him. It was no use. Robin felt a very bitter sort of defeat crawl over him as he gave one last, violent push that still failed to knock the man away.

The feeling of being trapped rekindled some of the true anger inside Richard. The physical manifestation of being held down matched too well with the feeling that he was being held down by everything else. Bruce, Slade, the Titans, being _Robin_… they all held him down in one way or another. He hated it. He wanted to stop it. _That_ is what he wanted to fight. He was sick of being trapped.

He attacked in the only way he could, by forcing his lips against Slade's and pushing his tongue into the man's mouth.

"Fuck me," he said with a hiss, biting at Slade's lower lip and glaring into his eye.

Slade, for the first time Robin could ever recall, hesitated. His hard gaze flickered between the boy's lips and the cruel glare he knew was hiding behind the black mask. "No," he said finally. "You wouldn't enjoy it now if I did."

"Fuck that. You want me, right? That's all I'm _good_ for to you, isn't it? _Well?_"

"We'll discuss this later. Afteryou calm down." Slade glared, releasing the teen and turning his back on him as if he wasn't a threat.

"There is nothing to _discuss_." Robin lifted his leg and crashed a naked foot into Slade's armored back. The man stumbled forward just slightly before spinning and catching the teen's ankle in the crook of his arm.

"Believe it or not, _Robin_, there is. But you can't handle it right now. Pity. I expected more from you."

"You bast-" Robin began but was cut short as Slade pushed a hand against his throat and pinned him to the wall.

"Quiet." The man hissed, his eye burning into Robin's as his fingers tightened. "You were given a choice Robin. You made it. Deal with it. This kind of life isn't for the weak, but you are _not weak_. You can _do this_. Now get the _fuck_ over yourself and _get back to work." _Robin hissed and kicked, trying to dig his fingers into the man's wrists as he felt the heated tears gathering behind his eyes. Slade only held his neck tighter, glaring into him as he spoke again,_ "__**Or**_, if I'm wrong, quit now. Do it, if that's what you want. Waste your talent and potential because you couldn't live up to the legend of one tiny piece of costume!" The villain ripped away the thin strip of fabric covering Robin's eyes, revealing the violent blue surrounded by a glossy bloodshot pink.

He released his grip and Robin fell to the floor with a gasp. "How?" the teen rasped out, holding his throat and coughing violently. "How can I? It's my job to pro-" he had a small coughing fit and then raised his head to glare at Slade with the angry blue, "to _protect_ people."

"Then _do_ it." Slade pushed the teen over with his foot and held him to the floor. "You always have a choice. _Always_. Study your options, weigh the consequences, and make your move. And don't for one moment forget that _you_ chose that life, _not Robin_. Robin is nothing more than a myth. An _ideal_. Stop looking through the mask and make the choice for_ yourself._"

The villain removed his foot and retrieved his own mask from the floor.

Robin remained down, his naked body feeling the bruises that had not yet dared to show. He didn't speak. He didn't follow Slade with his eyes as the man moved to the window. He only lay there, breathing slowly and staring at the ceiling.

"You have your communicator. Call me when you're ready to… talk."

And with that, Slade was gone.

* * *

Part Two

* * *

"Good morning," Raven yawned when she felt Bruce jolt against her.

The man had only just opened his eyes and realized that he was not where he thought he was. The sound of Raven's had voice followed, it was slightly more raspy than usual because it was morning and because the woman was surprisingly vocal during sex. _Oh, shit_. Bruce smacked his palm bluntly against his face. He'd had sex with his Richard's _team mate_.

"I'm taking a shower," she informed him as she moved her legs to the side of the bed and stood. The sheets clung to her for just a moment before they fell away and revealed her pale body, naked and young, which added to the feeling of Bruce's guilt. "Feel free to join me."

Batman was ashamed to admit that his eyes followed the small sway of the girl's hips as she moved toward the door and disappeared into her private bathroom. He sat up and sighed when the sound of water hitting tiles broke the silence.

At least they had the foresight to use protection. Bruce muttered to himself when he saw the used condoms of the dresser and he shook his head.

Now what? He certainly couldn't be in a relationship with the girl. Aside from the fact that he was nearly twice her age they lived on opposite sides of the country, he was also the practical father of her team leader.

And then Bruce was back to square one: Richard. What was he suppose to do about _him_? He knew that the teen wasn't prepared to lose the financial security that Batman offered him, but Bruce also understood that Robin would carry on anyway. He would forgo gadgets and weapons and other life-saving things if it meant he could continue to be a hero. Bruce frowned. Taking away his financial security wouldn't prevent Robin from fighting crime, it would only cause him to be more reckless because it meant the loss of precious securities.

His frown deepened when he thought of the 'heroes' the Batman had inspired. He would see them every now and then, mostly after it was too late and they were already dead. Everyday people who just wanted to do the right thing but didn't have the means of the power to do it. He shuddered when he pictured Robin in their place.

"You coming, or not?" Raven asked as she peeked from behind the door, water dripping from her hair onto the dark carpet.

"We should talk," Bruce said, holding the sheet over his waist in a subtle act of modesty and obvious sign of embarrassment.

The woman frowned and used her dark magic to turn off the shower before walking back to her bed and sitting next to the temporary lover. Bruce tugged at the sheets and offered them to her as covering. She nearly refused outright, but the pleading look from the man made her take it.

"First off, I want to apologize."

"Oh, please, I-" Raven began but Bruce held up a hand, asking for a moment of silence.

"It was never my intention to have a relationship with you- let alone a sexual one. And it is not my intention to continue seeing you. If I have led you on, I apologize. I have no romantic feelings toward you."

"Are you done?" Raven asked with a dry sort of patience as she tucked her wet hair behind her ear and raised a brow to the billionaire. The man nodded and she smirked. "I appreciate the sincerity, Bruce. And I feel exactly the same way. I can certainly say that I didn't mind sleeping with you, but it was never my intention to be led on or develop any sort of love for you. Even now I'm fairly certain that I would have to kill you if we were dating."

"Oh," Bruce said rather flatly, not sure if he should be happy about that news or a bit disturbed. "You're alright then?"

"Perfectly so. A little wet, but otherwise just fine. Now, get in the shower. Beast boy has a nose that you wouldn't believe and he'd have kittens if he found out you slept with me."

"Should I be worried?" Bruce asked with the slightest of smirks, quite obviously not worried by the prospect of the scrawny, star-struck hero.

"You should if you make any trouble for me," she eyed him in a joking manner but the man felt his smirk falter dramatically.

* * *

Robin sighed as he put the lid on the box and placed it back in the safe. Slade had been very correct in assuming that he kept his memories that way. Locked up tight but still close by. It wasn't quite how he wanted it, but it was certainly how he needed it. The safe closed with an unsatisfying groan and Robin locked it, pulling on it once or twice to ensure that it was bolted shut. What Slade _hadn't_ deduced was that he kept his memories separate. Like every other aspect of his life, photographs and mementoes were placed in designated sections, each with their own hiding place, their own secrets to keep from the world. It was, in some ways, a sort of insurance. That way if one memory bank was uncovered, at least he had some of his other secrets protected.

"They said you might be down here," Batman's voice broke through the somber quiet and Robin spun to face him.

"Thought you'd left," the teen said plainly, making an effort to refrain any sort of welcome into his tone.

"I was planning on it," he confessed, leaning against the door frame because he sensed that Richard didn't want him any closer. "But I think we still need to talk."

"Because we're so damn good at it?" Robin leered. He wasn't sure if he was trying to make a joke or start a fight. Different parts of him wanted both.

"I know we're both angry at the moment. But I'm leaving today and I'd like it if we parted on better terms."

Robin gave his mentor a look that seemed to say the odds of that happening were not good, but he let the man continue.

"I am still not convinced that you're prepared to handle this job on your own," he paused, as if waiting for the teen to contradict him, but that didn't happen. "But I also know that you have done an amazing job protecting Jump City. And I want you to know how proud I am of the young man you have become."

Robin felt his face harden, a subconscious effort to keep his jaw from shaking. Praise, from Bruce, was rare but always genuine. At the very least, it was nice to know that he wasn't a failure in his guardian's eyes.

Batman pulled back his cowl and once again faced his former sidekick. "And so, I would like to make a deal with you."

"Oh, shit." Robin muttered. Understandably, he'd had his fill of agreements and contracts. Thankfully, the swear was hardly more than a breath and Bruce didn't catch it.

"I would like to continue funding the heroic efforts of the Teen Titans," he said very earnestly. "But in return I want you back in Gotham to further your training."

"Absolutely not." Robin said, a little surprised at the calmness of his voice- and of Bruce's too. Perhaps they were both too exhausted to put up a big show.

"You realize that you will lose your only significant financial backing, Robin. You'll be putting yourself and your friends in danger by not accepting this offer."

"I know that." The teen said as he made his way for the door. "And I appreciate the offer. But this is where I want to be. It's the life I've chosen for myself. I won't give it up."

"I didn't think you would," Bruce sighed, pulling his cowl back over his eyes frowning. "But it was worth a shot."

"Come on," Robin sighed. "You might as well get a decent meal before you go. It's waffle day, you know."

"Waffle day?" Bruce asked, a curious smirk passing over his features. "No wonder you don't want to leave."

Robin chuckled and shook his head, "Yeah, yeah. That's the _real_ reason I'm staying. Gotham is too damn fond of pancakes."

* * *

Batman returned home in relatively good terms with his former side-kick, something that both shocked and pleased everyone within ear-shot. Robin had noticed a strange sort of uneasiness in Batman at breakfast, though. It seemed to happen most often when Raven spoke. The teen had a small private chuckle to himself when he realized that Raven had probably ridden Batman pretty hard about giving up on family and acting stupid, something she had done to him on more than one occasion when he stepped over the line.

It was probably better that he didn't know just how hard she had ridden him…

* * *

A week had passed since Bruce left and things had more or less continued to return to normal. Jump continued rebuilding and re-stabilizing the city, restoring it almost to its original condition, minus a dozen or so buildings.

True to his word, the seemingly limitless funds from Wayne Enterprises were locked and neither Robin nor Richard had any access to it. Curiously, though, the Justice League seemed to have taken a greater interest in the development of young super heroes and had generously begun matching their former funds to the penny. Robin _knew_ Bruce was behind that, but he just couldn't get the man to _admit_ it. He would only waive the topic away by simply stating that he had little sway in the Justice League's investment choices or something similar to that effect. Which was all complete and total bullshit. Never the less, Robin was glad to be talking to Bruce more often, even if it was mostly about work. He didn't want to start a fight and lose that connection again.

Slade, on the other hand, was someone Robin hadn't spoken to at all. He'd thought about that fact on more than one occasion, mostly after a frustrating lack of orgasm, but he didn't want to be the one to call, even if it meant losing _their_ connection. Still though, Robin kept his eyes peeled at night, hoping that they might cross paths and… talk… as Slade had so eloquently put it.

The man seemed to have disappeared again. Not for the first time, really, but Robin couldn't help but feel a little dejected. The city also seemed surprisingly free of Slade-bots. Both Slade's and the revamped mystery models hadn't even been spotted on surveillance cameras. But that was about to change.

Robin had been staring at the large growing screens again, something he did frequently when he couldn't sleep, when he saw something. It was Slade on top of The Jump City Bank in his full armor. He wasn't doing anything particularly incriminating, but the fact that he was just _standing_ there meant _something_, didn't it? Robin felt a tiny blush and he shifted at the sudden uncomfortable feeling between his legs.

Whether or not it meant anything, Slade's appearance on top of the bank was probable cause for criminal conduct. It was very important that _some_ sort of law official went and had a _talk_ with him.

* * *

"Returning to the scene of the crime?" Robin asked somewhat tentatively as he landed on the roof and Slade turned to face him.

"Robin…" Slade almost spoke like it was a question as he tilted his head to the side just slightly. "I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised to see _you_ here."

"Is that so?" Robin gave a small scowl as the man's feigned innocence. "You sure picked a lousy spout for us _not_ to rendezvous."

"Oh?" The man turned back to watching the skyline. "Why is that?"

Robin felt his confidence falter slightly. It wasn't as though Slade wasn't one to tease and elude, hell, it was practically his favorite hobby, but there was something different about the way he did it now. Robin wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps it was the genuine sense of curiosity the man held in his voice. It was as if he really didn't know that they were standing mere feet away from where they first fucked.

But then again… maybe he didn't…

"Take off your mask," the teen commanded, discretely pulling out his bo-staff in preparation for a fight.

Slade turned his attention back to Robin rather quickly, stiffening as though he was surprised. He was very silent for a moment before he spoke, "Let me see the scrambler first… I want to make sure it's on."

The teen shook his head slowly and extended his bo-staff with a fast movement. "Tell me, _Slade_… If you weren't waiting for me… then who _are_ you waiting for?"

"I can only assume that he's been waiting for me." A cold voice came from the shadows and soon a large body followed it. It was Slade. Robin was sure of it. The way he walked and spoke… it couldn't have been anyone but.

"Yes," the imposter stated matter-of-factly. "I'm surprised it took you so long."

The real Slade drew a sword from his back and pointed it at the imitation, "Would you care to introduce yourself before I destroy the robot you stole from me?"

"What use would a name be to a dead man?" the fake Slade laughed and drew a sword of his own.

Robin bit his lip. "You're sure this thing is really just a robot?"

"This model was one of the many that were stolen, so I would be surprised if it wasn't. Why?"

"Because… That means that he's decoded our scrambler…"

"_Our_ scrambler, is it?" the thing asked with a cool tone. "And, no. Not completely. I still cannot send or receive information. But all sensory functions are now operational."

"Looks like he didn't reprogram it to keep its mouth shut too tightly," Robin smirked, tightening his grip on the bo-staff and getting ready for a fight. "Do you have a bomb in your chest like the others?"

"Not like the others, no. Mine is better." If it was possible for the thing to smirk, there would be no doubt that it was doing it at that moment.

"What do the people controlling you want?" Robin asked very carefully, trying not to provoke the robot in case that meant losing his shot at information.

"Invalid question," the bot replied and pointed his sword at the true Slade. "I am programmed to bring about your destruction. Prepare to die."

It happened almost faster than Robin could see. Both Slade and his imposter began fighting. It was hard, quick and deadly. The teen winced when he heard the sound of cracking with each strike of the dual swords. The armor on both men began to fall away in pieces, revealing wires and sparks, skin and blood. Amazingly, neither seemed to back down in the least.

Robin was quite unsure how he should intervene- or if he should intervene at all. The robot was obviously programmed to fight and it did that very well. It seemed to know all of Slade's moves as well as some different tricks that Robin felt especially weary of because he recognized them as his own style.

Whoever was behind everything seemed to grow more and more dangerous with each passing encounter. Robin supposed that was the purpose to each of their meetings. The bots had started out as nearly harmless in the beginning, but in a matter of months they were being developed into a deadly arsenal. They were probably more dangerous now than when they were in Slade's control, at least that man's end goals were a bit more transparent. Whoever was controlling the bot that Slade was fighting had guarded their secrets well. It was obvious that they wanted Slade dead, but Robin knew they would want more after that. The only question was: what then?

The swords crashed against each other in perfect synchronism and Robin frowned. They were too well matched. It would go on until one of them tired out- and Robin was more than sure that the one to tire first wouldn't be the robot.

Slade seemed to have caught onto that as well because he swung his sword around and thrust it forward once again. Robin gasped at the stupidity of that move. Sure, he would get an open shot at the bot's head, but he left his abdomen wide open for an attack from the other sword.

It all happened exactly how Robin knew it would. First came the sound of metal cracking, scraping, and tearing. It was followed almost simultaneously by the sound of the other sword pushing into the cracks on the real Slade's armor. Few people ever hear what ripping flesh sounds like. Robin had heard it on more than one occasion, but that fact never prepared him for hearing it again. He felt sick when he saw the blood dripping down the hilt and pooling Slade's feet.

He rushed forward and hit the bot away with his bo-staff, making it crash to the ground in a useless lump. Slade had managed to deactivate the artificial intelligence, but that meant that the bomb inside it was still active and set to blow.

"Come on!" Robin yelled, pulling Slade's arm around his shoulders before the man could fall to the ground in the puddle of his own blood. He dragged the bulky body to the edge of the rooftop and pulled out a grappling gun.

Slade seemed to chuckle slightly as he took the gun from the teen's hands and aimed it at another rooftop. "I could have just deactivated it, but if you'd rather destroy the bank…" Robin sneered as the villain fired the grappling, wrapped a thick arm around his waist, and pulled him over the side as they swung away into the night.

"Pretty spry for a dying man," Robin grumbled as he noted the fact that Slade's bleeding had slowed considerably.

"I'm far from dead," Slade mused back at the teen just as a burst of light and sound exploded from the top of the bank.

Robin felt the wind and heat pushing them away and he couldn't help but marvel at the red-tinted glow that the explosion cast over nearby buildings. It was one of those fleeting moments that are so spectacular that time itself seems to slow down to a crawl. Robin turned his head to look, but at that moment he felt the arm around his waist slacken. Before he could twist his head to look back at Slade, the man had completely let go and the two began the long and deadly fall to the street below.

"Slade!" Robin yelled, but it was drowned out by the wind. He watched in horror as the man's body jolted and then went limp, plummeting like a rag doll towards the ground. "Shit!" the teen hissed, holding his arms to his side and straightening his legs so that he could control the direction and speed of his fall.

* * *

Slade was vaguely aware of the pair of legs that wrapped around his torso and hooked behind his back. The very sudden jerk and pressure around his ribcage told him that Robin had gained control of the fall by using another grappling hook. It was probably a very funny sight, Slade mused. The villain of Jump dangling between the legs of Jump's leading hero. He would have to remember to laugh about it later, because the pain in his stomach was starting again and he knew he was going to black-out.

* * *

Robin groaned at the extra weight with each new swing. Reaching the ground with a very large man shoved between your thighs was no tedious matter. His eyes scanned the terrain and he frowned as he reached for his last grappling hook. A quick calculation told him that they would have at least a twenty-foot drop to the street. That wasn't going to be fun, especially not for Slade, because Robin would have to drop him if he had any hope of coming out without breaking his legs into pieces.

The teen bit his lip as he released his grip on the grappling gun and began to fall. He did his best to position Slade as they very quickly plunged to the ground, but in very little time he had to let go and hope for the best. He rolled when he hit the ground himself, trying to distribute the impact across his body, but he was certain he heard a few good crunches in the skirmish.

He was on his feet before he let himself feel the pain. Slade was lying on his back about ten feet away, motionless and deadly quiet.

Suddenly, Robin heard a sharp whimper of agony, before he could realize who made the sound, pain flooded his shoulder. He gave a strangled growl as he turned to his left and found that, along with a minor case of road-rash, his shoulder had been dislocated.

"Fuck," he breathed, positioning the dislocated arm into a right angle and slowly rotating it into position. It was incredibly painful, but he'd had plenty of experience fixing dislocated arms, both on him and other people, so he knew how to do it.

Robin let out a strange sort of gurgle-gasp as the arm finally moved back into place and he could turn his attention back to Slade, who was still lying on the ground. The teen walked carefully over to the man, almost as if he expected the large form to jump up and bite him.

"Slade?" he said very carefully, nudging the man with his foot and receiving no response. Robin knelt down timidly, casting anxious looks at the dark windows of the buildings. Luckily, they were still in the financial district, so there were rarely any people around at that hour. "Hey…" Robin whispered, gently unhinging the man's mask and gawking as blood flooded out of the broken seal. His blue eyes widened as he pulled away the villain's mask completely.

His eye was half open but unfocused, covered in blood like the rest of his face.

"No…" Robin felt himself gasp. It wasn't right. He was fine before… just a few moments ago…

The teen's hands flew to the man's torso. He pushed apart the armor and stared at what was supposed to be a stab wound. Impossible. Robin ran his hands over the skin, feeling the still warm blood sticking on his fingers but not feeling anything close to a mortal wound. There wasn't a single mark on him.

Slade jolted and coughed, earning a very embarrassing sound from the teen as he turned to the side and hacked up his lungs in a much more literal sense than he would have liked.

"JESUS CHRIST, SLADE!" Robin couldn't keep his voice down any better than he could keep his body from shaking. "SH… SHIT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

The man wretched onto the street, hacking up a very unpleasant mix of blood and tissue. Alarmed by the bizarre assortment of choking noises, Robin moved to get a better look and swore under his breath.

"What do I do?" he asked the man, trying to steady his voice despite the panic that had come over him. "It's… Your body heals itself, right? I mean, your stab wound-"

"N…" Slade began but was interrupted by another coughing spell, spraying the cement with tiny droplets of blood. "Nan…"

"Nanobots?" Robin finished and Slade nodded.

The villain pointed to his stomach and made a sweeping motion with his hand.

"From the sword, I know," Robin pulled at Slade's arm and dragged him to his feet while he pushed a button on his belt that would bring his motorcycle to them. "Come on, I'm taking you to the tower."

* * *

The ride back to Titan's Tower was significantly more difficult than the ride there. Robin had decided, after another attack and a significant amount of blood later, that it was best to tie Slade's body to his own as they drove.

Once they were finally on their way, the teen contacted the rest of the Titans and told them about the fire. He'd also made up some bull shit excuse as to why he wouldn't be there with them. They had accepted the lie without question, naturally. After all, why would their leader lie to them?

"We're here," Robin told Slade as he shut off his motorcycle. He untied the knot that was pressing hard against his ribcage and winced at the pain. He would have taken a moment to make sure that nothing was broken, but without the rope to stabilize him, Slade fell to the floor and coughed weakly.

The man hovered somewhere between consciousness and death as Robin half walked, half dragged him from the garage into the basement. Inside the elevator, Slade slumped down onto Robin's shoulder, muttering incoherently before another attack overcame him. Despite Robin's best efforts to keep him on his feet, Slade fell to the floor and began convulsing again.

The strong-willed silence that the man usually had was crumbling. His blood-caked lips opened wide as he vomited again, coating the floor with blood, bile and tissue. After that, he stayed down, unmoving as Robin tried to lift him.

It was happening in patterns, Robin had deduced. First came the pain, then the blood, then unconsciousness, then a weary sort of recovery that seemed to be fading with each new attack.

"Come on," Robin pleaded as the doors spread open to reveal the cluttered basement. He pulled at the man's arm feebly, feeling weakness wash over him as his exhausted muscles struggled to lift the man. "Almost there."

"I'm fine, Addie," Slade coughed and tried to wipe away the blood that was leaking down his chin. "I'll make it."

"Shut it," Robin barked, noting the slightly befuddled look on his half-dead lover's face. "I dragged you all the way here; you're _not_ going to die on me now."

"Robin?" Slade asked, followed by a coughing fit that brought up a hell of a lot more than phlegm.

"Yes, _Robin_," the teen muttered unceremoniously as he dragged the man along, careful not to slip on the mess that Slade had just created. He bit his lip as he pressed on.

Slade had healing powers. That much was obvious to Robin now, but his body wasn't able to fight off the nano-probes on their own, so perhaps he wasn't immortal. How much could the man take? He'd lost at least seven liters of blood, Robin guessed. And although a man Slade's size could probably hold as much as twelve liters in his body, he clearly should have been dead by then… to be fair, though, he _should_ have been dead from the stab-wound, but it's wasn't really the time to point thing like that out.

"In the chair…that's right." Robin hoisted the man into the Nano-Sweeper and began hooking up the contraptions. "You should be thankful we kept this," the teen muttered as he worked, "though I suppose you'll just thank yourself for making us _need_ this damn thing."

Slade gave a sort of disgruntled sound and shifted uncomfortably. Robin had the impression that he was going to be sick again, so he quickly turned on the machine and gave a haggard sigh as it hummed to life.

The teen frowned. There was nothing left to do but wait.

And, oh, how he _hated_ waiting.

* * *

"Come on, lump." Robin groaned as he pulled Slade into his room. The man was very much more alive since the removal of the nano-probes, but he didn't have much to show for that fact. The attacks had stopped and, with significant help from the hero, Slade could almost walk. However, he still seemed somewhat lost in the mind department. He had called Robin Addie again- whoever that was, as well as asking for Wintergreen. Robin had no idea why the man would want chewing gum at a time like that, but then he remembered the amount of vomit Slade had passed and decided that he would rummage through the kitchen for a pack later. Although he was pretty sure they only had spearmint.

Slade gave a loud groan of protest as the teen more or less dropped him onto his bed. Robin felt a bit bad about that, but Slade was heavy and he was tired, damn it! And _since_ Slade was safely in his bed and _not_ dying any longer, Robin was now tasked with the duty of cleaning up the mess that he'd left in _trails_ and _puddles_ all down the hallways. The teen huffed as he pushed the man into the center of the bed, not particularly caring that his sheets were being ruined by the clotting blood.

"I'll be back later," Robin mumbled as he turned towards the door, stopping only when he felt the man's hand close around his wrist. He paused before he turned, alarmed by the gesture not because it was forceful but because the grip seemed weak and somehow more sincere than any gesture he had ever drudged from the villain before that time.

Robin, for reasons beyond his own comprehension, couldn't find the will to pull away. It was if Slade tapped into the very core of his hero persona. A hand, reaching out blindly for help… What kind of hero would ignore that?

Slade cast the teen a drowsy look, his eye blinking a few times in what could only be the realization that: _oh, that's Robin. He looks angry; it was probably something you did._ He gave a lazy, almost proud smile at that and then his eye wandered down the teen's arm, landing finally on his own hand. He took a moment to study the sight, giving it an inquisitive look as if trying to decide if he was hallucinating or not, before he seemed to lose interest and let go, placing the hand on the bed and closing his eyes for sleep.

Robin sighed, unsure if he was disappointed or somehow relieved that Slade had let go so easily. He didn't have time to dwell on that, though, he had some serious cleaning to do before his team returned.

* * *

Hours later, as the sun was cresting over the horizon, Robin received a call from his teammates explaining that the fire was out and an investigation was well underway. He had made up another flimsy but unquestionable lie, explaining that he'd had a little run in with Slade and was now back at the tower, nursing a few wounds.

"_We'll be there soon_," Raven told him as she stepped into the T-car. _"You alright?"_

"Yeah," Robin played, "Just a little bruised and tired. Do me a favor and keep the team contained, would you? I'm dying for a nap."

"_Shouldn't be too hard," _the girl smirked, tilting the communicator to show Beast Boy drooling in the back seat while Starfire's head bobbed sleepily. _"Get some rest. I'll take care of the bruises in the morning._"

"Thanks, Raven. I will." Robin closed his communicator and gave a fatigued sigh as he trudged toward his room.

He hadn't admitted it yet, but his anxiety about returning to his room had grown. What if Slade wasn't going to recover? His body seemed to be back in order, but his mind… What if that never came back?

He held his breath as his bedroom doors opened, which made his tiny grunt seem strange and almost squeaky as he took in the sight of an empty, blood-stained bed. He stared at it for a few moments before he wearily shook his head and gave a shallow sigh.

How like Slade to leave a big, bloody mess behind him. Robin locked the door and frumpily trotted over to the bed which he slumped down on and closed his eyes. He would take care of the mess after he had some angry but well-earned rest.

He grumbled some profanities as he adjusted his body into a more comfortable position, preparing himself for sleep. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he recognized the smell of soap that floated in the air, but it wasn't until he heard light footsteps that his eyes shot open and he sat up.

"Slade?" Robin asked, wincing at his sudden movement and gingerly clutching his ribs.

"I borrowed your shower, hope you don't mind." The man gave a very subtle smirk as he dried his hair with the _only_ towel he brought out with him.

Robin glanced down briefly and almost wished he hadn't. Slade wasn't exactly hard, but he certainly was far from flaccid as his penis made a very graceful sort of curve that Robin couldn't help but admire absentmindedly. Obviously, the borrowed shower wasn't a cold one.

The smirk on the man's face widened. "From the looks of it, you don't mind at all."

Robin looked back up and realized that his glance had somehow developed into full blown gawking. How that happened was still a mystery to the teen but he wasn't waste time wondering, especially because Slade was leaning closer to the bed.

"Tell me, Robin," the man nearly purred as his lips edged closer, "how have you gotten on without me?"

"Just fine, the teen breathed, feeling his pants becoming far too tight. "Getting off has been a little difficult, though." He gave a timid sort of smile that faltered slightly when Slade stopped moving closer, leaving a small but very distinct distance between their mouths. He was toying with him, teasing him with that insignificant but deliberate space, egging him into making the move for himself. He could feel the man's breath on his lips, taste the mint and alcohol of the mouthwash that he must have also borrowed. "Glad to see you're better now."

"Yes, I suppose I owe you a great deal of gratitude."

"A thank-you would be nice," Robin stated, trying to take the edge off the distance between them without throwing himself on the man.

"Absolutely," Slade's voice was even and his eye piercing as he placed his arm on either side of the teen, nearly hovering on top of him as he gave the hero a very serious look and said very plainly. "Thank you, Robin."

It was honest and not the least bit arrogant, something that Robin did not expect and was not equipped to handle. Slade had meant what he said and Robin had no idea how to respond. They sat still and silent for a few long moments before the teen felt fingers brushing against his nipples.

"How are they?" Slade asked, touching the piercings through the bloody tunic and lowering his eye, testing Robin once again.

"Sensitive," Robin replied, letting a blush crawl over his cheeks and making a tiny mewling sound as the fingers pinched down over his left nipple and slowly, gently twisted it. He could play the game just as well as that bastard could, thank you very much. And, just like Slade, he played to _win_. "Harder…" he gasped, arching his back into the bed and letting out a hard whimper when Slade obliged. "God yes…"

"I've missed that sound…" Slade hummed with a purposeful sort of familiarity that made Robin partly angry and fully aroused.

Robin raised his hands and placed them tentatively on the man's stomach, feeling the place where the stab wound was supposed to be and frowning slightly.

"What are you?" he asked, blushing slightly when he realized how cruel a statement that could be. "I mean… no human heals like this without magic."

"Magic," Slade said with a hint of a smile. His voice conveyed the patience that his hands did not, as they were slowly drifting down the teen's chest, no doubt heading towards a very specific destination. "_True_ magic is only a more ancient form of science. I am human, but only just." A real smile broke over Slade's face at that point. "I'm surprised you didn't dig up the files and see for yourself."

"I would have to access them through the Justice League archives," Robin said, not without a hint of smug bitterness. "That would risk giving away our secrets."

"Sticking to the contract? How amiable. I honestly didn't quite expect that after my little speech."

"Well, it was very inspiring. You'll be happy to know that I _have_ studied my options."

"And?" Slade asked, his hand hovering above the teen's crotch, knowing that it was aching to be touched.

Robin mouth twitched at the corners, evidence of the smile that was hiding somewhere inside him. It was time to tell the game to politely and most sincerely fuck off. His hand wrapped behind the man's head and pulled him down, leading him into a deep kiss that made Robin feel like fire was spreading through his body. He had missed that feeling more than he was willing to admit.

The kiss tasted of mint and vanilla, not quite the metal and blood that Robin had grown accustomed to, and it burned just slightly from the alcohol. The smell of his own soap over the man was somewhat troubling as well; it muted the industrial scent that was engraved into Slade's skin and left Robin feeling oddly alone and… what could he call the feeling… dirty.

He shifted uncomfortably at the thought and felt the dried blood cracking on his skin. No wonder he felt dirty.

"Shower," Robin mumbled between kisses.

"Later," Slade promised, pushing down the teen's pants and letting his fingers curl around the thickened cock.

The teen was in no mood to argue after that. He felt his hips give an unintentional thrust forward, pushing against Slade's palm as he moaned into his mouth. His legs fumbled, trying to remove his pants without taking the time and effort actually _needed_ to remove them. Slade chuckled and broke the kiss, grinning as Robin inhaled steeply and gave him a lazy but impatient smile.

He ran a finger up the underside of Robin's cock, earning a moan and a large pearly shot of pre-come that dripped down the side of his erection as Slade dug his fingers under the green pants and dragged them down.

Strong hands ran over Robin's legs, noting the particular cleanliness of this skin. Somehow, the blood and mess had not soaked through. His uniform was far from clean, but his body underneath it was nearly immaculate, Slade couldn't help but give a small chuckle at the comparison. Robin either did not hear it, or he did not make the same connection the man had made, because instead of pouting or throwing another tantrum, he spread his legs and gave the man a needy sound.

Slade noticed a very timid movement from the teen. He was reaching up to his mask but hesitated before anything was accomplished. The fingers floated above the black strip for a few long moments and Slade stopped to watch, transfixed by the unsure expression worn by the young man lying under him. Robin noticed the lack of movement and quickly scratched at a patch of dried blood on his cheek, pretending that it had never been his intention to remove the mask.

Slade knew better, but he didn't push it. It wasn't that he was particularly patient about the matter, he wanted to watch that pretty blue as the teen writhed against him; however, the idea of having the teen writhe against him at all was enough for the moment. He would see that robin's egg blue again. And he could wait until that time.

"Lube?" Robin asked, reaching his hand down and brushing his fingers against Slade's cock, which was far from flaccid by that time. "I have some in my belt."

"Good planning," Slade gave an approving sort of smirk as he reached for the previously discarded belt, he was suddenly very glad that they were taking things somewhat slowly. They both tended to be somewhat more chaotic when the foreplay was non-existent, meaning that the belt would have probably been halfway across the room or embedded in the wall if they were playing their usual games.

Robin couldn't help but moan slightly as he watched Slade squeezing the small container, letting the lube drip down his cock in thick but fast streams that Robin caught with his hand and smeared over the surface. Slade, taking his time, coated two of his fingers and very slowly pushed them inside the teen, stretching and pressing until Robin let out a frustrated groan.

"I'm ready," he said, giving the man's penis a squeeze with his palm and groaning. "Put it in."

Robin had a very vague realization at that moment: he was a very selfish lover. He would have deliberated on this new insight, but Slade moving into position fairly well cleared his mind of any thoughts that did not relate to him being fucked as quickly and as deeply as possible.

Slade, for no other reason than he wanted it as badly as the teen, quickly lifted Robin's hips and pushed inside. The teen let out a yelp and Slade cocked and eyebrow.

"That's what you get for rushing," he said, noticing that the teen was treating his right side a bit delicately.

"Yeah, yeah," Robin mumbled, adjusting his body to a more comfortable position which was much easier on his chest. He considered telling the man that it was actually his ribs that were hurting, but he had a very distinct notion that one or more were broken and that Slade would insist that they healed before any sort of rigorous hay-rolling could occur. Robin didn't want that. He _really_ didn't want that. "Hurry up and fuck me."

Slade smirked, pleased that the young man wanted it as badly as he did, and graciously obliged.

Robin tried to arch his back at the feeling, but settled instead for letting out a very loud groan because the pain in his chest was a little stronger than he would have liked. A few thrusts later, though, and that pain had all but evaporated from his mind.

Robin let out a meek little moan as he wrapped his legs around the man, careful not to put too much pressure on his ribs as he shifted his weight. Slade replied by smirking and moved as well, leaning forward until his lips were nearly on Robin's.

The teen returned the smirk that Slade gave to him and slowly began to inch his hands behind the man's neck. He pressed his fingers over the strong collarbone and seductively trailed his fingers over a pair of shoulders until they met just under the white hairline and proceeded to tangled themselves in the wet strands.

Robin let out a low moan of pleasure as Slade began long, fluid strokes inside him, withdrawing as much as the position would allow until he pushed back in, slowly filling the teen until his sac was flush against the entrance. He would give one last little push before beginning to pull back again, if only just to watch Robin gasp and feel his cock jump against his abdomen.

"Slade…" Robin hissed, digging his nails into the back of the man's head and lifting his chin in a nonverbal demand that was soon answered by Slade's lips.

Slade smirked at the kiss and enjoyed the nearly metallic taste of blood that hovered on the warm lips. It was a nice change of pace, although it was not meant to last. The villain simply enjoyed the perversion of the hero being the stained one, for once. It was laughable and utterly false. He could never touch that side of Robin, not really. The side that sought out light and good and morality. No amount of sex could change him or take that away. No contract could bind him to betray his truest self. Even if Robin hadn't figured it out, as Slade himself knew, the man behind that flimsy black mask was meant to be a hero. And _nothing_ was meant to stop him from that.

_But, of course, that was exactly the thing Slade himself wanted to ensure. _

The villain pulled back slightly, letting Robin gasp for air while his hips began thrusting faster into the teen. The break from lip-lock didn't last long, though. Soon enough, Robin was letting his tongue do the beckoning while his hands gave only a slight pull to get the man's attention.

With a short flash of a half-smile, Slade opened his lips and moved his tongue to meet Robin's.

The hero moaned and closed his eyes, half focusing on lifting his hips to meet the increasingly faster thrusts without hurting his ribs. He lazily opened his eyes under the mask and felt his body shudder when he realized that Slade's eye was gazing hard into his, studying him, teasing him, challenging him. It wasn't until he felt another shudder run through the core of his body that he realized he was coming.

Slade let out a fierce groan as he felt the teen clench around him, and before he could stop it, he was coming too, spilling wave after wave of sticky heat into the hero's body.

Robin arched and moaned into the man, writhing as they both rode through the last of their orgasm, and Slade very nearly collapsed on the teen.

The man slowly pulled out and rolled to the side, resting his elbow against Robin's pillow and gently running his hands over the still clothed chest. The hero absentmindedly stretched his hand to play with Slade's hair, taking in the oddly soft feeling of the still damp locks.

"That was amazing," he mumbled, smiling when Slade's thumb more than deliberately rubbed harder against his right nipple.

Slade gave a low growl of agreement and leaned down for another kiss, waiting for Robin's tongue to invite him in, which it did in record time.

The kiss lasted far longer than usual and involved far less petting, stokes, and thrusts than either was accustomed to. For Slade, that form of intimacy was a fairly intentional move. Robin, on the other hand, enjoyed it just as much but refused to think of it in terms of cuddling. The kiss ended as Slade pulled away, biting Robin's lower lip and dragging it with him just a bit before he let go and it snapped back into place.

"Shower," the man said, lifting his arm off the teen and giving him free passage to move.

Robin wasn't sure if Slade was _asking_ if he wanted a shower or if he was _telling_ him to take one. Either way, it was an opportunity he was not foolish enough to dismiss.

He gave a small grimace of pain as he sat up, but quickly schooled his face to say otherwise as he moved toward his bathroom.

* * *

Despite his utterly filthy body, Robin made very quick work with the shower. His hair was somewhat problematic, but soon enough he had it tamed back into something in-between tidy and bed-head. He gave himself a once-over in the mirror and frowned at his deeply brused ribs. Definitely broken.

Ah, well. Raven could fix that easily enough. With any luck, Slade would notice or wouldn't care.

Robin was about to open the door when he glanced back one more time at his reflection. He gave another frown, this one a bit deeper and far more serious as he studied the black and white strip that his own pretty blue hid behind. Locked away from the world as they were certainly meant to be.

* * *

Slade lazily opened his eye and let it drift over to the open door. He sat up and smiled at the stunning blue orbs that met him there.

The hero. Maskless. Humanized. An unexpected but very welcomed sight.

Robin took a deep breath, not breaking eye contact until he exhaled and said the one of the most treacherous things he had ever dared to utter.

"Richard Grayson."

* * *

A/N: I know that I've asked this before, but I want to make my readers as happy as possible, so I'm asking again. **Would you like faster releases with less (or no) smut in lieu of long chapters that will always have a lemon flavoring?** That wouldn't guarantee faster releases, unfortunately, but when chapters like this arise, I could publish the first part in one chapter and the second part in another to keep the release dates a little more manageable.

I can assure that, regardless of the long wait between chapters, that I will see this story to the end. And if anyone ever has any questions (like "where the hell is the next chapter?") you can always drop me a message to see what's up and (if possible) get an estimate on the next release date.

Until next time, take care~


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: After reading chapter 31 of Wynja's (freaking amazing, as if you didn't know) story called 2060, I learned of a certain Lord Kelvin and his little program called RedBootton. This is probably old news for most of you, so I'll skip the small talk. Long story short, this story (as all of my fics) will have to be removed eventually because they are (rather blatantly) in violation of FanFiction's ToS.

If, or rather _when_ that time comes, the story will be continued on another site. Following Wynja's example, in the event that my account is deleted, please find me on Deviant Art under the same name: Kawaii-Kuro. I would like to finish this story for all who enjoy reading it, even if it must be done on another site.

That undelightful bit aside, please enjoy...

Chapter 20

* * *

Robin bit his tongue at the silence and contemplated the severity of his words. It felt strange to say his name out loud; it was somehow enlightening if not completely terrifying, like the shedding of the last fig leaf. He was standing before Slade, naked in every sense of the word, vulnerable to the truth that he had just revealed

"Grayson… the ward of Bruce Wayne?"

Robin nodded slowly and stared at the floor, his body was shaking but he wasn't sure if it was from fear or a bizarre sort of tingling that had suddenly manifested inside him.

"I see," Slade said very calmly, his voice free of anything close to vindictive mirth. He laughed slightly then and shook his head with a laissez-faire smile. "To think… after all this time spent wondering… and we had already met."

Robin felt his eyes widen as his turned his face back up to the man.

"You were quite young at the time. I doubt you would remember it, especially because it was when Wayne first… _acquired_ you, for lack of a better term. You were the lobby of one of his offices and I was there for a meeting with him."

"Oh, God." Robin choked out with surprise and a strange sense of nausea. "You're a business partner?"

"Hardly. I'm afraid Wayne had no interest in a splendid investment opportunity once he found some of my previous financial gains to be, shall we say, somewhat shady."

"_Somewhat_," Robin snorted and half rolled his eyes. He was thankful, though. Mostly because he knew that he couldn't warn Bruce that a colleague was now Jump's most wanted criminal. Not with the new contract in place, anyway.

Slade gave a small chuckle as he stood to his feet and walked the perimeter of the room, hands folded neatly behind his back until he reached the mirrored doors of Robin's closet. He pushed against it once or twice as if to test its strength before turning back to the teen with an innocent sort of smile.

"So tell me, _Richard_, are you going to keep holding that towel over your ribs the rest of the night?"

Robin flushed slightly and clutched the towel between his fingers. He'd hoped that he could hide it until the lights were dimmed, but Slade's smile let him know that he'd known all along.

"You were especially protective of the right side," Slade said as he moved closer to the teen. "Let me have a look."

The hero reluctantly let the towel slip out of his fingers and fall to his feet, revealing the deep red mark.

"Quite a tidy little break," Slade commented, kneeling down to get a better look. He placed his fingers on the perimeter of the bruise, startling Robin slightly because he was expecting the hands to inflict some kind of pain. Instead, Slade very cautiously examined the marking, not quite touching the dark skin but letting his fingers ghost over it so lightly that it sent goosebumps all through Robin's body.

"Well, we can't _all_ have super-human healing abilities," Robin smirked after a bit of silence, seemingly distracting Slade from the bruise because the gray eye flickered up and stared into the blue.

"Yes," Slade smirked back as he stood tall, making Robin shift from looking down to looking up. "That's a real pity."

"It's probably for the best," the teen said, letting his fingers play slowly against the man's chest. "I don't think you could handle me if I had them."

"Oh, I imagine that I could handle you just fine," Slade teased, tracing a finger down the teen's jaw line and giving a deep, almost silent purr when Robin smirked and nipped at his thumb before slowly sucking it into his mouth in a pattern that no man could fail to recognize. "But if you keep trying to seduce me like this, you're going to _need_ healing powers to function in the morning."

Morning. _That_ was something Robin did _not_ want to think about. He pulled Slade down into a kiss in hopes of drowning out that thought, letting his tongue idly slip into the villain's mouth. Slade gave a very small sound at the gesture, something akin to a dark chuckle as he leaned down and fully captured the kiss.

He was soft at first, letting his tongue roll over Robin's while his hands rested on the teen's shoulders. Robin could feel himself swooning lightly, but stopped himself when he realized how submissive that total surrender felt. He gave a small growl and pushed himself up against Slade's mouth, earning another sound from the man and smirking as he pressed his body closer, delighting in the fact that Slade was every bit as hard as he.

He moaned against Slade's mouth when he felt a rough hand closing around both their erections, giving a small, uncontrollable thrust when the grip tightened and he could feel Slade's fingers moving across the surface. Robin gasped as he broke the kiss and looked down seeing his cock pressed against Slade's, red and leaking just like his lover's.

"Hang on," Robin muttered as he tried to catch his breath, "I want to use the sound."

"You keep it here?" Slade asked, surprised that the teen didn't lock it away with everything else.

"Yeah," Robin, said, moving towards a row of drawers and pulling on one until it completely came out of the wall. "It's not like I could get rid of it without suspicion." He reached his arm into the space left by the drawer and soon pulled out a medium sized box.

"Of course," Slade He smiled then at the fact that Robin wouldn't keep it so close unless he _needed_ it to be close. He peered over the teen's shoulder as he opened the box and pulled out the larger of the sounds as well as a container of lube. "If I may…" the villain offered as he reached around Robin's body and took the items from his hands.

Robin held in the tiny shiver that tried to pass through his body when he felt Slade's chest pressing against his back. He pushed himself into the thick body, feeling every one of his nerves tingle at the sensation of the hard nipples rubbing against his shoulder blades as Slade prepared the sound.

"So eager, are we?" Slade asked as he ran his lubed fingers over the metal shaft of the sound, twirling it gently before he pulled his hands away and guided the teen to lie back against the floor. Robin followed the cues without question, gently lowering his body until he was lying on his back, casting Slade a nervous and wanting look as the man took his position between the hero's knees.

Slade took a moment to run his lubed hand up the teen's cock, stopping at the head to rub his thumb into the slit, smearing the pre-cum. Robin took in shallow breaths, trying to ignore the pain from his broken ribs as his hands reached between his legs, fondling the sides of his groin and tugging at skin to make his balls tighten.

"Patience," Slade said very quietly, making Robin wonder if he was speaking to him or to himself. The teen couldn't help but give a small half-smile at that little thought, but it slowly melted into a moan as he watched Slade align the sound with the tip of his cock and slowly push it inside.

Whether it was the fact that it had been awhile since he had used the sound, or the fact that Slade was moving so tortuously slow, Robin wasn't sure, he only knew that the feeling of the rod moving inside him, _spreading_ him, was more intense than he remembered. He gave a meek little sound and wrapped his fingers around the base of his cock, squeezing hard for fear that he might come.

Slade leered over him when the sound was finally inside him, enjoying the wetness in the teen's eyes, which were already filled to the brim with lust and surrender. "Hold still," Slade told him as he placed a finger at the head of the sound, pushing the metal 'S' harder against the teen's entrance just to watch him pant and squirm.

"Slade," Robin gasped, capturing the man with his legs and dragging him closer. He arched his hips into the man, rubbing himself against Slade's equally hard but much larger cock. "Don't tease me when I want it this badly."

Slade replied with a sly smile before leaning forward and pressing his lips against Robin's, making the teen buck and moan against him. It wasn't as much of a battle for dominance as it was a simple meeting of lips, touching each other in a way that was neither curious nor jaded. It felt familiar though not quite in the sense that they were comfortable. The moment was too fleeting to feel any sort of security inside it. Moments that felt so perfect were never meant to last.

"Put it in," Robin whispered as he wrapped his hands around the man's neck and gazed at him through half-lidded eyes. "You want it too, right?"

"Yes," Slade said against Robin's lips and began to push inside him. "I want it just as much as you." He watched with fascination as the blue eyes widened as the hero took in every inch of the thickness that was offered to him. Robin parted his lips in a small but stifled hiss, fighting to keep his breath even, failing occasionally when a fraction of a throaty gasp managed to escape.

Slade paused when he was completely inside, taking a moment to study the teen's expression and the thin layer of sweat that was covering his forehead. He had closed his eyes, blocking the shocking azure from Slade's view, but he opened them slowly, as he exhaled a shallow breath.

"Sorry," Robin whispered, glancing to the side and blushing. "It kinda… hurts to breathe."

"We can stop," Slade offered, expecting the refusal that he got before he could even start to pull out.

"No…" Robin whispered, watching the smirk that formed over the villain's mouth and, for the first time, finding that it aroused him. "It'll stop hurting soon. Just keep going."

"If it hurts," Slade said as he pulled back, "just hurt me back."

"It's fine, rea- ahh!" Robin dug his nails into Slade's back at the sudden pain that shot through him when the man thrust his hips forward.

"Good boy, just like that," Slade licked his teeth and began thrusting, careful not to push in too hard because, try as he might, he couldn't ignore the fact that the hero really was in pain.

It wasn't that Robin actually _wanted_ to hurt Slade, but there wasn't much he could do to stop himself once the pain shot through him. He dug his nails into the man's skin, grunting and hissing through his teeth until the pain began to fade away, giving rise to the stronger sensation that was building inside him.

He opened his eyes, wondering when he'd closed them to begin with, and met with Slade's hard gaze. Robin blushed slightly as he took in the man's features. He'd already memorized every bit of the villain's face, but watching him during sex presented a whole new set of details to take in.

It wasn't that Slade looked lost… no, that wasn't it. Robin bit his lip as his hated lover's cock slid in and out of his body. There was something in the flint grey eye that captured his attention. Some look of longing that Robin hadn't seen before, as if Slade was searching for something through his heated gaze… something that could only be found when it was already gone and passed. His blush deepened when he realized what that look meant. Slade was _aroused_… entranced by the same lust that the hero presumed could only capture him.

It somehow never occurred to Robin that Slade wanted to drown in their sex just as much as he did.

The teen clenched his muscles tightly and quickly wrapped his hand around the base of his cock, earning a strange and erotic sort of groan from the villain as his cock was suddenly thrusting space so tight it was painful.

"It's alright," Slade said, his voice restrained as his hips moved, fucking the hero in earnest. "Don't hold it in."

"No," Robin nearly whimpered, holding tighter to the base of his cock and panting. "Not yet."

Slade smirked, reaching between their bodies and taking the head of the sound between two fingers. "It's already begun, _Richard,_" Slade breathed as he began to pull, dragging the sound out from the teen's weeping cock and watching the cards fall. "And you can't stop it."

"Nn-ahh!" the boy gasped, arching his hips against Slade's hand, rubbing his erection furiously against the heated skin as his cum shot over his stomach in a hot white mess.

If Slade hadn't come just before that, the look on Robin's face would have been his undoing. It was the eyes that really tortured him; that pretty blue that bloomed open with his orgasm, sharpening intensely before they seemed to sink back into the waves of dizzy heat that only Slade could dredge from him.

With a smirk, the man dipped his fingers into the fresh cum that lay in splatters up the teen's abdomen and lifted his hand to the pair of panting lips. Slade touched the wet tip of his finger to Robin's bottom lip, watching in delight as the teen opened his mouth and rolled out his tongue, licking away his cum while his eyes stared directly into the gray, as if in waiting. When he felt Robin's hands moving from behind his back, he understood why. With a smile and a cloudy gaze, the teen pressed his fingers to Slade's lips.

Slade's mouth opened slowly, letting the blood-covered tips of Robin's fingers brush the tip of his tongue which had moved out to greet the taste.

Robin blushed slightly when he saw Slade's blood on his fingers. Maybe he had been clutching just a little too hard onto the man's back. Slade gave a low growl as he sucked in one of the blood-covered fingers and suddenly Robin's mind was far too dizzy with thoughts of sex to produce anything close to embarrassment.

He removed his fingers from Slade's mouth and quickly pinched the coarse hairs of the man's goatee between two fingers, dragging the villain closer until the distance between their mouths closed and their tongues were sliding against one another once again.

Slade delivered a short thrust, reminding the teen that he was still hard, though God knew that Robin didn't need any reminders. The hero quivered slightly, giving a tiny moan into Slade's mouth before the teen finally had to turn his head, panting for air.

Slade paused when Robin's breath hitched in his throat and his blue eyes widened. A quick glance to the side told him that nothing was wrong; Robin had only seen his reflection in one of the many mirrors on the wall. And that gave him a very fun idea….

Robin gave a small moan of protest when he felt Slade's cock slipping out of him. He clenched weakly and glared at the hand Slade offered him.

"On your knees," The villain smirked.

Robin declined the hand and sat up rather gingerly, wincing as pain flushed through his chest. He followed the man's commands somewhat readily until he saw what Slade was up to.

"Something wrong?" Slade asked innocently when he saw the teen's face turning red.

Robin tried not to look at his own naked reflection, a task that was easier said than done because he was on his knees facing the mirror.

"I didn't realize that you were this much of a narcissist," Robin said dryly as He watched Slade's reflection closing in behind his own.

"Narcissist, hmm?" Slade chuckled against the teen's neck, making sure that his beard tickled in just the right way. "I think that you'll appreciate the view far more than I will."

With that, Slade wrapped his hands around Robin's arms, lifting him carefully as he slid his legs between the teen's, parting them slowly. Robin made a small, breathless noise when Slade tilted their bodies back just enough to give the teen a view of probably the most pornographic thing he'd seen to date.

"Oh my fuck."

Robin wasn't sure that he'd said his thoughts out loud, but the chuckled he felt against the base of his neck told him that he had. In his defense, though, it was _quite_ a sight to see.

Slade was balancing on his knees and the balls of his feet, erection on proud display, that egocentric bastard. Robin felt himself clenching as his body hovered above the villain's cock, but more than _feeling_ it, with the angle Slade had put them in, he could actually _see_ it. He felt his face becoming even more flushed, but somehow enough blood was spared to fuel more than his cheeks with blood.

"Touch yourself," Slade whispered into Robin's ear before he nibbled just a tad on the lobe.

Robin gave a low groan and timidly stroked himself, careful not to go at it too enthusiastically because being extraordinarily randy was probably the only thing that could dull the pain in his ribs, and he didn't want to lose that natural painkiller again.

Slade made a sound; something akin to a low purr before he carefully positioned himself and began to thrust his hips upward, driving his cock into the tight warmth of the hero. Robin tensed and moaned, never once taking his eyes off of the reflection.

He could see everything just as well as he could feel it. Slade moved in slow, fluid strokes, holding Robin in place so that his cock could be seen clearly as it moved in and out. The hero moaned and marveled at the sight, his erection already leaking and dripping pre-cum down the head of his penis. He'd always felt what Slade was doing to him when they fucked, but seeing it somehow made it even more real. His blue eyes flickered up and Robin caught sight of his own reflection. Lips parted just slightly, swollen and wet from kissing. Hair tangled once again, but no longer dripping. And his eyes… the part of him that felt the most naked… and the most freed.

Slade had found a decent rhythm by that time, enjoying the sounds that his lover made as he thrust into him. He smirked when he realized that he could almost control him in that way, moving just right to produce the desired sound.

Almost in control. But not quite.

Just like always, there was that fragment of defiance. _Free will._ It used to be the thing that Slade wanted to _fix_, but no longer. Robin wasn't meant to be caged or tamed any more than Slade was, and fucking provided them both such an excellent opportunity for freedom and release. It was a time when they could drop the masks, both figuratively and now literally, and pretend for just a small moment that they were only human. Free to make mistakes and act on impulse, free to speak and fuck without any reservations. Free to admit that they wanted it because it made them feel human, because giving into that loneliness was the closest they could ever come to _being_ human.

Slade closed his eye and nuzzled against Robin's neck, biting the skin softly and tasting the boy's sweat.

Robin arched and swore, rubbing his member a bit more furiously as Slade picked up the pace as well.

"Slade…" Robin breathed, his voice dripping with want and lust, as if he were a wounded lamb calling for the slaughter. Slade smirked against the teen's skin. What kind of villain would ignore a plea that?

Slade's grip tightened on Robin's arms as his hips began to grind faster and harder against the teen. The sound of skin hitting skin was only rivaled by Robin's moans and the occasional low growl from Slade. The hero had stopped pumping himself, but this time Slade seemed to have taken some amount of pity on him and not taken control of it himself. Still, Robin was dangerously close and Slade didn't seem to show any signs of stopping.

The teen stifled a cry in his throat and quickly clenched his muscles, feeling both the pain from his ribs and that of his cock, which was darkened to an angry maroon. The teen gave a tiny, surprised sound when he noticed that his clenching produced a very interesting result: Slade's balls tightened too.

Robin clenched again, squeezing the man's cock inside him and watching as the large testicles contract just under his. He simply couldn't hold it in after that. He arched and very nearly screamed out his release. The first shot landed on his chest, but the second managed to hit his lips and dribble down his chin. A small part of his mind swore that he head Slade chuckle at that, but he ignored it as his orgasm began to dwindle, dripping cum rather than spraying it.

Robin licked his lips quickly, mostly based on instinct, and then went back to watching Slade's cock moving inside him. The man's balls were now a darker color, shining slightly through the sheen of sweat and looking more than ready to let go.

"Slade," Robin moaned, stretching an arm behind him and grabbing onto Slade's hair. His blue eyes widened at the feeling of the villain's cock swelling fast inside him before he could see every tendon and muscle contracting just under the reddened skin of Slade's balls. "Oh, God," Robin cried as he saw the first drizzle of white leaking from his body and dripping down the sac as it continued to contract and release in time with Slade's thrusts.

Robin gasped and his hand shot between both their legs, cupping Slade's testicles and lifting them just enough so that he could grind them against his own. He could feel the sticky mess collecting between their bodies, but Robin only rubbed harder, delighted when he felt one last strain of Slade's muscles to empty everything he had into the hero's body.

Slade growled and collapsed back, attempting to protect the teen from falling also, but doing a rather poor job because Robin landed with a pained sound.

"Are you alright?" Slade asked, trying to keep from sounding out of breath although it didn't matter much because Robin could very well feel him struggling to breathe evenly.

"Yeah…" Robin breathed, fumbling with his arm because he instinctively wanted to rub the pain away but knew that would only do more harm than good. "Holy… shit…" He gave a strangled laugh," you were… right about the… mirror."

"I told you we should make a movie," Slade said almost dryly, but Robin was sure he could hear a smirk at the corners of that statement.

The teen gave a raspy laugh and clenched his teeth; the pain was back with a vengeance.

"Come on," Slade said, gently lifting the teen and earning a pained grunt in reply. "Let's get you on the bed."

Robin was too tired to object to being carried, but he did his best to shoot the man an angry glare as he was set down onto his bed. Slade only smirked and turned toward the bathroom where his clothes were scattered on the floor.

"Leaving so soon?" Robin managed to say _almost_ normally as he carefully resituated himself against the pillows.

"Not yet," Slade replied as he bent down and rummaged through his belt. "I have something for you."

"If it's another bomb, I swear to god, I-" Robin glared as Slade rose to his feet and presented the 'gift' in question. "Oh, hell no."

"It's a painkiller." Slade told him dryly. "Unless you want to wake Raven up and have her fix your ribs right now, you should take it. Consider it a thank you for saving my life."

"Still, no thanks." Robin said, eyeing the needle that Slade pulled out of the plastic casing. "Why do you even have that thing?"

The villain gave a small chuckle and looked the teen in the eye. "Just because I heal quickly doesn't mean I don't get hurt," he stared into the pretty blue, "Did you always give Batman that look when he tried to give you painkillers? I know you're a masochist, but _really_…"

"I'm _not_," Robin objected and winced, blushing when he realized how quick and how vehement he was to deny that statement. "And how would _you_ know if Batman ever made me take anything?"

"Because," Slade smirked, turning the needle in his hands to display the logo on the side. "Wayne Pharmaceuticals began manufacturing Toradol shortly after Batman began fighting crime. Forgive me if I see more than a coincidence in that connection."

Robin gave Slade a sour look.

"I thought so. Now hold still." Slade moved the needle between Robin's legs, pressing a blunt plastic tip against the faint line that was his femoral artery and then pressing the button at the end of the injection.

"Slade, I really don't want- _ACHFUCK_!" Robin jerked violently at the sound of the injection. He hadn't realized that it was a newer model of the needle, which used compressed air to make delivery as fast and painless as possible… Or at least it was supposed to. But the miniature air-gun made a loud noise when it clicked, something Robin wasn't expecting and couldn't help but react to. The needle had hardly hurt at all when compared to his ribs, which were now sore from his reflexive jolt.

"There, there." Slade soothed with a certain glint in his eye that told Robin he wasn't a tiny bit sympathetic. "I promise it's the only time you'll ever get a tiny prick from me."

"That's because you're a giant prick every other time," Robin growled, settling back against the bed and glaring.

"You don't seem to mind it too much," Slade said rather airily as he rubbed the injection sight and watched the hero's cock twitch. Unfortunately, the teen was far too spent to produce any more of an effect than a few tiny bounces.

Robin rolled his eyes and took a pained breath, waiting for the damned medicine to kick in. He really didn't like taking Toradol, it had always made him drowsy whenever Bruce made him take it. He swore the man even made him take it a few times just to keep him at home…

* * *

'_You can't fight crime if you can't even see straight'_ Bruce used to tell him as Alfred hovered over his bed, empty needle in hand. Richard hated those moments; they made him feel so powerless. He used to turn his angry eyes away from Bruce, refusing to even look at him until Alfred would put a gentle hand on his shoulder and he would be forced to relent.

* * *

'_He does it because he cares for you, Young Master.'_ Alfred would say as he soothed back the boy's untidy hair. '_He is only looking out for your safety.'_

'_But I care about him, too, Al.'_ Dick would pout, crossing his arms over his chest. _'I want to keep him safe just as much as he does me.'_

* * *

'_No! No! I told him not to go without me!' _ The boy cried as he flew down the stairs, passing Alfred as they made their way deeper into the Batcave.

'_Master Dick, please go back to your room.'_

'_No! He got hurt because I wasn't there! Because I couldn't protect him! And now-'_

The Batmobile pulled into the cave; Bruce's body slumped inside it with blood dripping down his chin. They had received an alarm from the autopilot that Batman was returning, meaning that he was returning with heavy injuries or worse. It was impossible to tell at first glance whether he was alive or dead.

* * *

"No!" Robin cried, gasping and struggling through the pain. "Please!"

_He had to get to Bruce! He had to make sure that-_

"-yson… Grayson."

Slade's voice brought him back to reality and his blue eyes suddenly focused sharply. He tried to sit up, but his clumsy movements only hurt him.

"Calm down. You were having a nightmare."

"Nightmare? Fuck. It was a memory," Robin took tiny, shallow gasps, trying not to agitate his ribs.

"A memory?" Slade asked, his voice filled with genuine curiosity. "Care to talk about it?"

"Not really, no." Robin murmured, thinking back to it and shivering at just how vivid it was. Sure, it was a terrible moment in his life, one that he wouldn't forget any time soon… but remembering so perfectly… the image and sounds were so clear. He could probably count the hairs on Alfred's mustache.

He stilled when he felt Slade's hand press against his forehead, taking his temperature before the hand slipped down and fingers pressed against his neck to take his pulse.

"I'm fine, really." Robin said, brushing the hand away. "I'm not having an allergic reaction or anything."

"Oh, really?" Slade teased, holding the hand up in front of Robin's face and quickly flashing numbers in sign-language. "How many fingers?"

"You're going too fast," Robin complained, noting the almost worried look on the man's face before he smirked and answered. "Three, ten, twenty-five, seven, sixty, one, eleven, three, eleven."

"Now multiply them," Slade raised an eyebrow, presenting the challenge as if he expected that the hero could keep up. Luckily, Robin could.

"One hundred fourteen million, three hundred forty-five thousand," Robin smirked.

"Divide it by three."

"Thirty-eight million, one-hundred-fourteen thousand." Robin responded almost instantly, hoping that his bewilderment didn't translate on his features.

"Now multiply that b-"

"I get it, I get it." The teen laughed and rolled his eyes. He blinked slightly at the dimly lit sky outside. "What time is it?"

"Almost eight," Slade answered. "I suppose I should be going soon."

"Let's take a shower first," Robin said, hoping that the man wouldn't catch on that the reason he suggested a shower was because he actually needed help washing.

It had been a long time since he had to use Toradol, as he'd stopped using most all painkillers since meeting Raven, but he was sorely disappointed in the results. Then again, Slade probably didn't need any long-acting painkillers, so the dose was probably very small and it made sense that it wore off so quickly. He just wished that he could sleep through the painful parts and be awake when the stupid drug actually _worked_.

Robin grunted through clenched teeth as Slade helped him up. "Thanks," he mumbled as he held tight onto Slade's arm for support. He felt pathetic in doing so, but it was either that or collapse on the floor in pain with Slade watching. Lesser of two evils, he supposed.

Slade was surprisingly gentle about the whole thing, both in manner and in treatment. He even managed to keep his mouth shut, but Robin supposed it was just because he really couldn't complain after he'd had his life saved by the hero not once, but _twice_ in a single night.

By the time Robin made it to the shower, he realized just how incredibly piss-poor he felt. It was probably the lack of sleep, imminent danger, and sex-drive that did it. Without those things, everything in life seemed just a little extra crappy.

"Gently," Slade coaxed, making Robin blush and scowl as he was helped into the shower. "Why don't we take a bath instead?" Slade suggested, as he played with the dials with his free hand until warm water began to poor out of the spout. "I noticed earlier that your water doesn't like to stay hot for long."

Robin couldn't object when he remembered that little eco-friendly feature. With Slade's help, the hero sat down in the tub, his back to the man who seemed to have decided that it was the perfect time to cuddle up because soon Robin was sitting between two large legs and being urged to sit back and relax against a very muscular chest.

"This is freaky," the teen stated plainly and honestly as he watched the water gather around their bodies.

"Don't look too much into it," Slade hummed, running a wet hand over Robin's nipples and watching the buds harden around the piercings.

"That better not be what I _think_ it is," Robin warned as he felt something stirring behind his back. "Because I am way too tired to fuck right now."

"Just a reflex, Grayson, nothing more." Slade chuckled, leaning back slowly against the walls of the bath and sighing.

Against his better judgment, Robin followed suit and rested against the man, even daring to let his eyes close for a moment as he tried to breathe evenly. The teen didn't even realize that he'd drifted off until Slade moved against him.

* * *

"The water is getting cold," Slade murmured as he reached for a bar of soap. "And the sun is probably up by now."

"Right," the teen murmured, shaking his head just a bit as though clearing his mind of dust. He was a bit surprised when Slade's soapy hands began moving over him, cleaning off the remnants of sex that were still left in faint splatters on the hero's abdomen and had also formed a delicious little trail down to his groin. Robin allowed the cleaning, tensing very tightly as he tried not to harden from the slick caresses. It was a futile effort, though, because less than a moment after Slade's hand moved over his balls, cupping them and rolling them in his palm, Robin felt his blood pumping hard and fast into his groin.

The teen frowned, "You did that on purpose."

"Just making sure it still works," Slade replied innocently, dipping two fingers into the firm little entrance and wiggling them at the cum splatter inside.

"Shit," Robin breathed, his eyes widening just slightly.

"Pardon?" Slade asked, withdrawing his fingers in case the boy had meant that to be a literal statement.

"No, not that." The teen sighed and moved his hand between his legs. "When Raven heals people, she tends to get very up close and personal. She might sense your presence..."

"From _inside_ you?" Slade asked, more than a little curious and honestly quite aroused by the prospect.

"Yeah. Don't look so fascinated, she's good at what she does." Robin lathered up his hands and went back to work with a groan. "Remind me not to fuck until _after_ I'm healed."

"Calm down," Slade chuckled, reaching between the hero's legs to help. To Robin's surprise, and perhaps a bit to Slade as well, the man actually _was_ helping without _much_ of an ulterior motive.

"Why doesn't she sense it otherwise?" Slade asked the teen as his fingers diligently went to work.

"I think she could," Robin blushed. "At least a little bit. She kept saying things about my aura… Anyway, since we already knew about magic barriers from when Trigon attacked, I made up a few. I carry one with me and I've put them all around my room. That's why I knew I could take you here without being discovered… Huh… I wondered why she didn't sense you when you first snuck in… You used the hallways, didn't you?"

Robin's face tightened with the look that told Slade he was concentrating and the man enjoyed a private chuckle inside his brain. Of course _he_ knew why Raven hadn't discovered him. She was rather occupied at the time.

"She was probably meditating," Slade made the excuse and Robin seemed to buy it. "There. I think you're as villain-free as we can get you. The question now is do I need to give you a hand-job or would you like to suffer?"

Robin scoffed as he struggled to stand, grabbing onto one of the steel bars he had installed for just such an occasion.

"Please, I'm not _that_ weak," he tsked, un-stopping the drain with his foot as he reached for the shower-head. "And besides… the sun is out and Raven will be up soon. If I don't go to her, she'll come to me."

"Duty over pleasure, back to hero-mode, I see," Slade sighed and stood as well, sharing the water with the teen and deciding that it was worth the risk to at least try for a bit of tongue.

He smiled when Robin's fingers pushed against his lips before he had even started to move in for the kill. "Nice try, Slade." Robin smirked, But no."

Slade smirked back, taking Robin's hand and kissing the palm, "we do know each other too well, don't we?"

* * *

"Here," Robin said as he handed Slade a folded piece of paper. "I've scrambled the security signals for the next three minutes and made you a barrier. Raven can't sense you with this."

Slade cocked an eyebrow. "That's awful sporting of you. I had assumed that I was supposed to make a run for it and hope that you didn't sic the green one on me."

"Well, it's not like you can really use this for any other purpose, can you?" the teen smirked as Slade tucked the paper into one of his many pouches and moved toward the window. "That's, what? Rule number one?"

Slade smirked down at the teen as he pushed open the window, letting the cold morning air rush inside and dispel some of the lingering heat. "Yes. No use of information for personal gain. Glad to see you're finally using the rules to your advantage too."

"Don't be so glad yet…" Robin smiled, his blue eyes indicating a hint of arrogance that was oddly refreshing coming from the hero. "I realized something else."

"Oh?" Slade froze, holding his mask before his face as he was just about to put it on.

"Yeah… I gave you permission to kill whoever was behind everything…" His smile widened. "But we never agreed that I couldn't try to _stop_ you."

Slade pushed his mask over his face before Robin could see his expression.

"I suppose you're right," he said, taking hold of a borrowed grapping-gun and moving towards the edge. "But I doubt you can stop me."

"Don't bet on it," Robin grinned.

"We could, you know." Slade turned back, sounding amused. "A little wager just between us friends?"

"Depends on the spoils," Robin's smile faltered just slightly.

"Oh… nothing too much, I suppose," Slade chuckled. "How about this: The loser is the winner's slave for one night."

The teen looked doubtful, but slightly intrigued. "But no crime breaking is allowed," Robin added. "This is for sexual gratification only."

"I like the way your mind works," the villain laughed and extended his hand to the hero.

Robin took it wearily, wondering why the hell Slade had to end _everything_ with a handshake.

"I look forward to hearing you say 'Master' again," Slade grinned behind his mask as turned to the window, stepped off the ledge, and began to fall.

"I'll buy your collar tonight!" Robin called after him, hearing the grappling-gun fire and magnetically attach itself to one of the sturdy chromium-covered support beams that lined the Titans Tower.

He stayed at his window for a moment, watching Slade move swiftly toward the water and dive in with hardly a splash before he resurfaced a good ten feet away and began swimming towards the city.

The smirk on the hero's face lowered slowly and he winced once more at the pain in his chest. He had planned to do some heavy cleaning before leaving his room, but his ribs said otherwise. He needed to pay a visit to his favorite healer first.

* * *

"You didn't tell me it was broken," Raven scolded her teammate as her hands hovered above the teen's ribs. "At least it's not as bad as it looks," she muttered, pushing harder on the wound and ignoring Robin's pained sounds as she concentrated.

"It didn't really _feel_ broken before," Robin lied, relaxing a bit into the feeling of Raven's magic working through him.

"So how did you do it? Did Slade throw you against a wall or something?"

Robin's felt a shiver run through him, "What?"

"The bruising is a pretty broad pattern, too big for a fist, anyway. So I figured he threw you against something."

"Oh, yeah. He kicked me against the side of a building. It was a lucky shot."

"Pretty damned lucky." Raven muttered with a slight smirk as her fingers slowly rubbed against the dark spot. "Although I'm surprised it bruised as much and as badly as it did. It's just some simple oblique fractures, but the bruising lines almost make it look like comminuted."

"I'll just count myself lucky too, then," the teen breathed, feeling Raven's fingers digging deeper into his side but not sensing the pain as vividly. "The last thing I need is for my bones to fall to pieces."

Raven continued to work in silence for a good while, pressing harder into the bruising until it began to disappear as well. She could sense something was off about Robin, but she couldn't quite place it. It went deeper than his aura, it was physical, an almost chemical feeling when she pressed deeply enough into his skin, forcing the last of the bruise to vanish beneath her fingers. It was a toxic sensation, and somehow it reminded her of Slade.

She thought about commenting on it, but bit her tongue instead. Their leader was a stubborn git sometimes, but he knew how to ask for help. It was simply a matter of if he wanted it or not… And the fact that he'd gone so far as to use magic barriers to block Raven's senses was a fairly good sign that he _didn't_ want help. Raven didn't like it, but she did respect it.

"Alright," Raven said, pulling her hands back and waving them just a little as if to dispel the magic that lingered on them. "I don't think you're going to fall apart any time soon now."

"Good to know," Robin smiled, pulling his shirt back over his head and tucking it into his belt. "And thank you."

"Don't mention it. But next time I expect you to come get me if you're hurt that badly." She gave him a stern look and moved toward the door of the tower's miniature hospital.

"I will," the boy's smile softened as they stepped back into the hallway. "Are you going back to bed?"

"Probably not. We'll know soon if the building is stable enough to start our investigations. From what I can tell, early reports have everyone pretty baffled."

"Oh?" Robin asked as they stepped into an elevator and made their way towards the top floor and their favorite room in the tower.

"They were having trouble retrieving the security tapes, I think. Something knocked down their system."

"No eye witnesses?" Robin asked, holding his breath until he heard the answer.

"No. The guard was on the bottom floor, trying to repair the system when the explosion hit."

The teen nodded and the elevator ride suddenly seemed less tense.

"Then I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Robin sighed as the doors opened, revealing a quiet room that would soon be filled with the sounds of his teammates cooking and laughing. It was one of the very few times that Robin didn't actually mind waiting.

"Tea?" Raven offered as she made her way to the small kitchen.

"God, no." Robin turned a shade paler, earning a smirk from the girl. "I mean, no. Thank you."

* * *

It was later in the day that the Titans finally received safety-clearance from the inspector and made their way toward the wreckage that was now Jump Bank.

They had inevitably discovered the portion of the tape where the Slade-bot appeared and stood, waiting until the footage turned to snow because Robin had activated the scrambler before even entering the area.

He pretended to be frustrated when he learned that _all_ the security devices in the area had experienced the same bizarre malfunctions.

"Oh, but Robin," Starfire said with a curious look as they watched the usable portion of surveillance tape for the third time. "Were you not fighting Slade in a different section of the city?"

"Hey, yeah." Beast Boy chimed in. "D'you think he's started using more robots again?"

"It's possible," Cyborg looked at the screen again, watching as the Sladebot stood eerily still, its back to the camera as it looked out over the city.

Robin held in his breath a moment before he started speaking, "I… I've been thinking. I'm not sure that Slade is the one behind this."

"Think we have a copy-cat on our hands?" Raven asked. "I wondered the same myself when the robots seemed too faulty."

"It would explain a few things." Cyborg rubbed at his chin in thought.

"Sorry to interrupt," a remarkably average woman said as she entered the police tent, clutching onto a stack of files. "But we've found something that you might find interesting."

"And you are?" Raven asked, trying not to sound as grouchy as she, of course, did.

"Oh, right, sorry," the woman blushed and pulled out a badge. "I'm Edna Dipam, from the bomb-squad. But you probably won't care much about that, when I tell you what we've found up there."

"What is it?" Starfire asked, her green eyes growing wider as though she was expecting a baby unicorn to pop out of the woman's head at any moment.

"Nothing!" Edna proclaimed excitedly, but flustered when she realized what her information sounded like to the team. "Er, no, you see. We haven't found anything that we're _supposed_ to find from the explosion. There is a lot of debris that _should_ be there that simply _isn't_. It was hard to tell at first because of the fire, but the top five stories are gone. _Completely_ gone."

"So, what? It just vanished?" Beast Boy asked and scratched his head.

"Well, we don't really know!" the woman answered, sounding just a bit more excited than the situation should have allowed. "It really is a mystery."

"Perhaps the Mumbo?" Starfire turned to her team with an inquisitive look.

"The disappearance part fits, but he's usually a lot smoother. Blowing up buildings doesn't quite fit in" Cyborg argued. "And that doesn't explain what Slade was doing there, either."

"Or Robot Slade!" Beast Boy interjected, always the helpful one.

Suddenly the three launched into a series of wild theories and crazy accusations. Robin and Raven looked at each other and shared a private groan while Edna Dipam simply watched the miniature explosion with keen interest.

"Are they screening for different chemicals that could have been used?" Robin finally asked, breaking Evelyn away from the argument.

"Yes, the lab has already collected samples and their running tests."

"How long?" Robin asked, mentally smacking himself because he hated it when people hounded him like that.

"Oh, well… not for another two days or so." she fumbled again, collecting her papers and placing them back in the files. "You can't rush these things."

"Thanks for your help Miss Dipam," Robin said as he escorted her to the edge of the tent. He turned back and gave his team a determined look.

"You don't plan on waiting a few days or so, do you?" Raven asked him with a cocked brow.

"It's not like we have to, do we?" Robin smirked and turned to their largest team member. "Come on, Cy. We're going up there."

* * *

It was a surprisingly odd feeling to be wandering around a very tall and very roof-less building. There was litter on the floor, but Edna had been right. There was not nearly as much there as there should have been.

"Let's see." Robin said as he bent down to brush his fingers in the soot on the floor. "The other Slade-bots used Cyclotol bombs, right?"

"Yeah," Cyborg said, holding his arm out and collecting a sample. "Negative… Guess they decided to use something different."

_Well, that's what it said, anyway_. Robin thought to himself as he pinched the ashes between his fingers, rubbing them together as he tried to remember any details about the explosion. What was its shape? Was there any smell to it? And what about the color of the blast?

Robin froze as his mind suddenly seemed to recall the moments of that night in perfect clarity. _Not like the others… _Robin spread his hands, looking at the black stain on his fingers.

"… Run a test for Xenothium," he said, not taking his eyes off the smudge as he waited, listening to the sound of the half-robot as he took a sample and ran a diagnostic.

"Positive."

* * *

A/N: Oh my, oh my. That's an awfully big clue, isn't it?

A fun little tidbit, my OC Edna Dipam is an inside joke. EDNA and DIPAM are explosive materials.

It might be some time until the next chapter because of school and other obligations. It's the first major exam of the semester this week, so wish me luck!


	21. Chapter 21

21

Hello! I know I'm late. Bad me.

* * *

A few things I forgot to mention in the last A/N because I'm a super-dorky-dork. The clue that helped Robin figure out that the bomb was xenothium was the bot saying "not like the others." For those who don't know, "xeno" in Latin translates as "different" so, yes, it's not like the others, it's xenothium! (I'm a dork)

More importantly, I have received some amazing gifts from a very talented young lady and she has given me permission to share them with the readers in the special dirty-pictures club. Remember how to get there? Good!

This chapter is dedicated to Linden Mae, who helped me out even though she wasn't feeling well, and Miss Kay, who is always a delight to speak with and draws some fantastically hot Sladin to keep me inspired!

Now on with the chapter:

* * *

Cyborg turned to Robin with an ominous look.

"It can't be him," the hero shook his head, his mind reeling. "I made sure of it this time… There's no way he could have gotten it back."

"Red X stole that suit before. And it was _supposed_ to be impossible then, too." Cyborg replied quietly.

"I know. But I was overconfident before. It wasn't guarded as heavily as it should have been and I had no alerts to tell me it was stolen. I made sure that I didn't make those mistakes again."

"I don't know, man." Cyborg moved his hand behind his head as if rubbing the back of his neck. "It feels like a serious case of déjà vu."

"There's only one way to find out. I need to make a call," Robin said, nodding shortly in apology. "Do you mind?"

"Do what you gotta do," Cyborg shrugged and headed for the staircase, grumbling just a bit at the lack of functioning elevators.

Robin sighed through his nose and pulled out his communicator. He really didn't want to talk to Batman about the possibility that Red X had stolen the suit _again_. It was embarrassing enough the first time. But if the thief had it, then there was more at stake than a villain with a good looking suit. It meant that he knew who they were. Not just him, not just Batman, or Barbara. _All_ of them.

And, suddenly, he had a better idea. Babs. _She_ could check the Batcave _without_ alerting Bruce. He smirked as he pressed a few keys on his communicator, hastily plugging in his headset so at least half of the conversation would remain private.

"Robin?" Barbara's voice answered quickly, her tone a question as to whether the call was an emergency.

"Yeah," He couldn't help but chuckle. "It's me. Everything's alright."

"Oh, good! I haven't heard from you in a while, so I thought- Well, never mind."

"You've been talking to Batman too much. I'm just fine out here."

"I know, I didn't mean it like _that." _She defended in a way that Robin knew meant she was smiling. "It's just that you usually don't call _me._"

"Yeah. Figured I would fix that right away," Robin continued, entering into the same playful banter they used to share before he left to fight crime on his own.

"Uh huh, _sure_. What do you need?"

Despite everything, Robin felt a smile crack over his features. "A favor."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I need you to check on something for me. Remember the box that was delivered to Batman on Christmas two years ago?"

"The one that said, '_Merry X-mas_' and was accompanied by several armed guards?"

"Oh, good. You do remember."

"Yeah. It's down in storage. Don't tell me you want it back?"

"No," Robin said, picking up on Barbara's suspicions instantly. "But I need you to check on it for me… You know… make sure it's still there."

"You're going to freak out if it isn't, aren't you?"

"You bet."

Barbara let out a tepid sort of laugh, "And you're going to freak out even more if I tell you that I'm not in Gotham, right?"

"Shit, seriously?" Robin groaned, smacking his hand against his forehead and glaring when he heard the giggle from his first real teammate.

"You're in luck, _Bird_ Boy. I actually got to the cave about five minutes before you called. I'm heading down to lockup right now."

"And Bruce?" Robin almost hesitated to ask the question, but he decided it was better than guessing or assuming the worst.

"He's still out. Don't worry, Dick. This will be our little secret."

"I have a feeling that I'll be paying for this secret later," Robin smiled.

"Oh, naturally," was Barbara's reply before Robin heard a procession of electronic beeps and whirrs as she entered an even more restricted area of the Batcave, as if the secret location and countless security measures hadn't been enough. "Alright, let's see…"

There was a cold silence as Robin waited, holding his breath through the anxiety of not knowing.

"Uh oh."

"What?" Robin gasped, feeling the worst sort of dread imaginable.

"Don't worry. The belt is still here."

He heard a little smugness in the light giggle and glared at a blackened wall, "I'm counting that as payment for the favor, you know."

"Oh, damn," she laughed again. "Well, it was worth it."

After a moment of pouting, Robin allowed himself a relieved laugh.

"So when are you coming for a visit?" Barbara cut in, not even bothering to hide the directness in her voice. "It's not the same without you."

"What, is Batman getting on your nerves now too?" Robin chuckled but this time Barbara didn't laugh.

"Come on, Dick. Don't say that. You know-"

"Yeah. I know. And you know why I left."

She gave a long sigh, "Yeah. I know… But it was worth a shot."

"I suppose I can't blame a girl for trying," Robin sighed as well, scratching the back of his head. "If it's any consolation, I do miss all of you."

"It's not much of a consolation, but I guess it'll have to do. But I'm going to tell Alfred not to send you any of the sweets he's baking."

"I always knew you would become a villain someday," Robin chuckled and turned, stopping in his tracks when he noticed a small flash of light. He frowned, rocking slightly in place until the flash reappeared and he found the source.

"Op. Gotta go. Bruce is back."

He kept his eyes on the object as he moved closer and responded just in time to hear the line go dead. "Th…anks."

Robin frowned as he blindly reattached his communicator to his belt and moved closer. It was small, whatever it was, and shiny, like polished metal or clean glass. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't have been odd, but the entire floor had been licked black with flame and soot. Whatever it was that Robin was looking at was placed there _after_ the explosion and the fire.

He stopped and stared over a cluttered desk, paying special attention to what looked like a keychain. There were two golden rings, looped together, and attached to a small bronze-colored disk. His frown deepened as he picked the chain up by one of the metal loops. The disk was strange; he'd seen storage devices like that before, but only when Bruce sent him government documents. It certainly wasn't the type of device that would be used by a banking system, especially not by a common desk-job employee.

He then turned his attention to the rings. They were strange as well, obviously not meant to be links on a chain. They weren't real gold; the metal was far stronger than real gold could ever hope to be. If he had to guess by the feel and the sheen, he would think that they were surgical steel. The curious thing about them was the small metal bead on each of the loops, he'd seen rings like that before, but he simply couldn't place them.

And then, just like the flash of light that first caught his attention, Robin knew what he was holding. A data disk from Slade… and a pair of nipple rings. How thoughtful.

He felt a blush crawl over his cheeks and laughed in spite of himself. Clever bastard. He'd already been there and investigated, and worse yet, he'd _bragged_ about it by leaving the little gift. He tucked the rings and disk into his belt, shaking his head and chuckling. Normally he would have been infuriated, but it somehow felt comical, like they were playing a game.

Robin mentally slapped himself. This was _not_ one of their games. People could die if he wasn't careful. He felt a cold shiver run through his body and turned. He wasn't even sure why until he saw a black mist forming. Raven stepped out and gave a small nod.

"We've got trouble down below," she said in monotone, giving the charred walls a once-over.

"Let me, guess. Slade is here." Robin growled and Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," She answered, "but you might be surprised _why_ he's here…"

* * *

"Join you?" Robin asked incredulously. "You can't be serious."

"And why not?" Slade replied casually, "We've worked together before."

"And you had your own motive when we fought Trigon, too," Robin glared. "No deal, Slade."

"Of course I did. I _always_ have my own motives, Robin_._" Slade tilted his head to the side, eyeing the teen from behind his mask and noting with pleasure the slight hint of pink that spread over the boy's cheeks. "And this time is no different. I want to find whoever is trying to frame me."

"We have yet to determine that you are even _being_ framed," the hero corrected, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Surely you don't think that I would be so sloppy," Slade laughed and gestured to the bank.

"You've made bigger messes."

"Only when it was intentional," Slade laughed. "It's your choice, Titans. But I'll tell you now that you'll regret not accepting my offer. Sharing information at this point could only be beneficial to all."

Robin swallowed hard as the villain's eye stared directly into his, challenging the teen with a silent threat that only he could understand.

"No." Robin said once again, every bit as firmly as before, though he could feel his hands shaking very slightly. "We refuse."

"Suit yourselves," Slade shrugged and turned his back to the group.

"Stop," Robin commanded, drawing his bow staff. "You didn't think that you could walk away just like that… did you?"

Slade turned, smirking under his mask, "Of course not."

"Titans: GO!"

* * *

Slade couldn't help but smile when he noticed that Robin wasn't holding back. Blow for blow, they were almost equal. He knew it wasn't really intentional, Robin himself probably didn't realize that he was fighting with more aggression than usual; but, judging by the little smirk on his lips, he just might have realized that he was fighting with more skill.

Robin did notice. Better aim, better hits, better judgment… maybe all that time spent fucking Slade had boosted his baser instincts. Or maybe he just knew that he didn't have to hold back; Slade _could_ just heal himself, after all. Either way, the teen was having a blast and he certainly didn't want it to stop; but, like all fun times, it had to end _eventually_. Slade's hand unclasped one of the pouches on his belt, scattering an assortment of small plastic spheres that cracked open and began releasing a stinging gas.

Robin held his cape to his mouth, pressing it against his lips and nose as he tried to breathe. His mask provided some protection to his eyes, but not nearly enough. Through the smoke, he heard Starfire let out a scream of rage, followed by Beast Boy's screeching, and then a slew of apologies from the alien princess.

The teen turned his attention behind him before he heard Slade chuckle quietly. He wasn't quite prepared for the hands that snaked under his arms, wrapping around his chest and teasing his nipples through the cloth.

"Wear them tonight," Slade whispered into the teen's ear as his fingers pinched the hardening buds. "I'll be waiting."

"In jail?" Robin purred, leaning back and pressing his lips to the mask, not caring that the smoke was making his lungs burn. In the blink of an eye, he swung his bow staff hard into Slade's abdomen, earning a surprised grunt from the man, who doubled over.

The hero coughed as he moved forward, dropping his bow-staff and cuffing the man's hands together as he gasped for air. He was feeling dizzy, from the smoke… and perhaps from the idea of _Slade_ in _handcuffs_…

"Oh, Robin," Slade tsked, silently pulling a pin from his belt and working his fingers against the lock. A smirk appeared when he felt a pair of gloved hands running over his backside, Robin was certainly feeling adventurous. "You should know better than to use cheap cuffs on me."

The hero growled as he felt his own cuffs tightening around his wrists. He'd had to clench his eyes closed by that time. It was a rather poor attempt to keep the smoke out, because the tears were already streaming down his cheeks.

"So stubborn. It's what I like best about you," Slade hummed in a low and husky voice as his arms wrapped around the smaller body, chest pressed hard against the teen's back. "Here, don't swallow."

Robin had his lips parted in a defenseless gasp when he felt two fingers enter his mouth and roughly jam something under his tongue. Slade's hand on his throat reminded him not to swallow, and after a moment he was very glad that he didn't because whatever the villain had put in his mouth was halting the effects of the smoke. It was as if the stinging feeling dissolved completely on his tongue, evaporating the smoke before it could ever reach his lungs.

"Better?" Slade asked, his fingers pushing against Robin's neck, feeling his pulse thumping just under the skin and smiling.

"Yeah," Robin whispered back, trying not to arch into the man's touches as his free hand began to wander underneath his trousers. He held his breath at first, wanting to give into the sensation but knowing that he shouldn't. It wasn't until he felt the man's fingers moving against his penis that he finally conjured the will to speak. "Don't."

"Why?" Slade teased, listening to the sound of Robin's teammates coughing and struggling. "You're already so hard."

"Slade…"

"Afraid they'll see you?" Slade breathed, feeling the teen's pulse pick up speed. "I should let them see…. I should make you _tell_ them _exactly_ what I do to you."

"Stop," Robin whispered, working on picking the cuffs and trying not to come in his pants. Slade's voice was deadly serious, but the teen knew that he was only bluffing. He wasn't sure _how_ he knew, only that he _did_. Maybe it was the man's breathing that gave it away, or the low tone, or the way that his hands moved over his neck and shaft, or maybe it was just the pure familiarity that had grown between them.

"Robin? Where are you?"

Slade chuckled when he heard the teammates begin their calls.

"I…" Robin started, his voice far too soft to be heard. He cleared his throat quickly. "I'm okay! Find Slade!"

"Dude, seriously?" Beast Boy coughed and, somewhere through the fog, ran into a trashcan that spilled its contents all over the street.

"Oh yes," Slade teased in Robin's ear as his hand began to move faster over the teen's length. "Let them find me."

"Slade, don't," Robin commanded, although it sounded more like a plea. "I'm going to come."

"So soon?" The man smirked, hearing the sound of handcuffs falling to the ground and feeling Robin's hands join his own on the now very exposed erection. The smirk widened when Robin couldn't seem to decide if he wanted to push the hand away or help it.

The hand on his throat tightened, making Robin hiss a little as his hands finally decided that now was _not_ the time to get off.

"Seriously," he growled, pushing the hand away and finding that Slade actually complied. He hastily tucked his hard length into his pants and readjusted his belt, hoping that his erection would go away before the smoke cleared.

"Just one more thing," Slade whispered, his hand still around the teen's neck as he kept a mental tally of every stroke of the teen's heart. He reached into his belt and pulled out a small metal ball. It was tapered slightly on two sides, making it more of an egg shape than a sphere, and the insignia etched lightly on the side announced proudly that it was another device of Slade's creation.

"Slade, don- ahh!" Robin grimaced as the man's hand went in for another attack, this one from behind. Slade gave a husky laugh and pushed the small metal egg inside the teen with his middle finger, making Robin quiver and clasp his hand over his mouth to keep the moan of escaping.

"Shh," Slade cooed, taking a moment to tickle the hero's prostate before letting his finger slip outside.

"Bastard," Robin mumbled and coughed, finding with certain disappointment that the capsule under his tongue had dissolved.

"Save the swearing for tonight," Slade purred. "You'll know where to find me."

Robin growled as the hand on his throat disappeared and Slade began his retreat. _Like hell_ he was going to let Slade get away with the last word. He found his bow-staff on the ground and quickly jabbed it in the direction of the sound Slade's shoes were making against the street. He gave a satisfactory smile as he heard the man stumble, catching himself before falling completely to the ground.

"Found you," Robin said in a distinctively dark and playful tone as he swung the staff around, finishing the job of knocking Slade off his feet. His third attack was not so lucky, Slade grabbed the staff that was aimed at his gut and pulled Robin forward, jerking him right into the man's foot that had been raised and ready for just that occasion.

The hero let out a hard grunt as he felt the air leave his lungs for a moment. He gasped and coughed, finding that smoke did little to help him recover. He really should have attacked the man _before_ the little capsules had dissolved, at least then it would have been a more even fight. Robin smirked. There was one way to even the odds a bit…

Slade raised a brow when Robin slumped forward onto his foot. He'd expected the teen to pull back immediately in an attempt to recover from what had to be a painful blow. The villain smirked, perhaps the hero was improving even quicker than he had realized.

And that's when the steel edge of Robin's shoe collided with the orange and black mask, splitting it into three pieces which fell onto the street. The hero was certainly feeling ruthless.

Slade frowned at that thought. Perhaps it _wasn't_ better having Robin know that he was immortal, he certainly wasn't pulling any punches. Had the teen become so consumed with the thought of victory that he was willing to push his boundaries a bit? Slade had done that himself once or twice before, and it usually ended disastrously.

"Robin," the villain coughed and, to his relief, the teen froze, gloved fist only inches away from crashing into his jaw.

The teen let out a shallow cough, moving his hands over Slade's chest and smiling. "Too much?"

"Never enough," Slade hummed, grabbing Robin by his tunic and pulling him down into a breathless kiss. He smiled against the boy's lips. Robin had been in complete control the entire time. Slade had never been more proud. It had all been premeditated. Calculated to a tee.

All according to plan.

Robin frowned as he felt the blood rushing to his groin again. Damn. He'd just gotten rid of that thing, but there it was, back again and even harder than before. He pulled his lips away from Slade's and gave a short, noiseless sigh. He knew he couldn't best Slade with fighting, at least no more than Slade could defeat _him_ with sex.

"Robin? Are you alright?" Starfire called from not too far away.

The hero paused. His hands hovered above Slade's chest, fingertips just barely pressing against the man's nipples. "I'll deal with you tomorrow," Robin spoke in a low and throaty tone before he moved to his feet.

Slade coughed on the smoke and grinned, watching Robin's silhouette disappear into the thinning clouds, no doubt to find his teammates who were lost somewhere in the pale gray mess.

"Titans, roll call!"

Slade heard his bird calling back to the others, followed by the sounds of the alien princess and, farther away, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy. "Tomorrow it is, then."

* * *

Robin stepped out of the elevator and waited for the sensors to turn the lights on. A thin layer of dust had settled over the floor and, because the lower sections of the tower were never heated, it was very cold.

"This place always gives me the creeps," Cyborg muttered, stepping out of the elevator as well and looking around.

"You're not the only one," the smaller boy said, stepping forward to the line of thick doors that awaited them. "Want to go first?"

"It's all you, man," Cyborg shrugged.

Robin stepped to the first door and removed his glove before pressing his bare hand against the scanner. The first metal door opened with a groan and Robin gave his teammate a small wave before moving inside the tiny cell and waiting for the door to close behind him. He watched the red light above quickly turn to green before a panel on the wall opened up, prompting Robin to speak.

"Titan." He said in monotone, and the next door opened as well, leading to another small cell. He moved as quickly as he could, knowing that Cyborg was soon behind him.

Red X's first break-in had prompted some very serious upgrades in their security system, most of which were focused on increasing storage-room security. Robin had insisted on fingerprinting, retina scanners, voice recognition, and a final security question at the end. It was Raven's idea that only one person at a time could go through the gateways, which Robin had to admit was a very good idea because it helped to prevent hostage situations from occurring inside the tower. If two people went in, a powerful knockout gas would spill inside and the police would be alerted. Beast Boy was a personal testimony to its success, because he once snuck in as a fly on Robin's shoulder and both of them ended up taking a very long nap.

He entered the last chamber before the storeroom, waiting for the green light to appear before he typed in his password code: FLYING GRAYSON.

A rush of stale air assaulted the teen's nose as the doors opened, revealing a cold and dark room that should have been lined with shelves, boxes, and locked containers. Robin had personally reorganized the room several months ago, during Slade's longest and most… _frustrating_ absence. Of course, that hardly seemed to matter to the earthquake. The lights turned on, nearly blinding him with their brightness and Robin groaned. To put it bluntly, it was a fucking mess. Boxes were scattered across the floor and shelves were toppled over. The only luck in the whole matter was that everything was made of steel and nothing was damaged, all artifacts remained sealed in their padded prison boxes. It was just a matter of finding the right one…

"Oh, shi…" Cyborg said as he stepped into the room, looking over the mess in disbelief.

"Call the others," Robin said, walking to a shelf and forcing it upright. "We've got some cleaning to do."

* * *

Robin bolted upright, his eyes wide with surprise.

"You okay, dude?" Beast Boy asked, turning his attention away from the thrilling task of alphabetizing a small row of boxes.

"Y… yeah," Robin said, hoping to god that his team couldn't _hear_ what he _felt_. It seemed that Slade's gift was more than an Easter decoration. It vibrated too. "Thought I saw a spider and it startled me."

"Oh… you mean like _**this?**_" Beast Boy sprang into the air and transformed into a very large green spider that wiggled its legs menacingly.

"Not so big and not as fuzzy," Robin forced a smirk as he turned from the other teen, effectively hiding his erection with a box he picked up from the floor. The vibration had thankfully only lasted a few seconds, but it was quite powerful. "And it had the element of surprise on its side."

"Oh! Beast Boy!" Starfire beamed, "You have never looked cuter! Tell me, can you make the threads of silk as well? Perhaps we can make a hammock!"

"Not in here, you can't," Raven said, lifting the boxes with her mind and placing them on the shelf. "It's messy enough as it is."

"Spoil sport," Cyborg murmured with a grin as he worked on his own pile of boxes.

* * *

Little more than two hours later, when a great deal of the boxes had been returned to their proper place and category, Robin came upon a box marked with a big red X. He swallowed hard, fiddling with the lock until the box sprang open, revealing a haggard looking cowl with a red X laying over the forehead.

It was there.

"That it?" Cyborg asked as he hoisted one of the heavier boxes to the shelf and moved to the teen's side.

"Yeah," Robin said, looking over the face of his own creation and frowning. "It's still here."

"And the rest of it?" Starfire asked, her wide eyes hovering a foot above Cyborg's shoulder as she floated in midair.

"Well, the belt is safe, I know that much. As for the rest of it… I would be seriously worried if _they_ were taken." He paused as if considering if he should tell them the rest. "The suit is in the Hall of Justice in DC… and all the weapons and xenothium are being kept inside the watchtower. "

"So the belt is with Batman?" Raven deduced, staring down at the mask with a tired look.

"Yeah. Batgirl checked on it for me. It's still there… Which means we've got a pretty big problem on our hands."

"Why is that? The Red X is not behind it, we should be joyous!" Starfire said, trying to decide if she should be celebrating or just confused.

"Yeah, but it means we have a new criminal on our hands… possibly a sort of copy cat." Raven said.

"It's possible," Cyborg shrugged, "first Slade's robots, now the xenothium."

"Or perhaps Slade is using the xenothium now," Starfire added.

"What do you think," Beast Boy asked, turning his attention to their leader. "Uh… Robin?"

"Huh? Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Don't think too hard, dude. Your face is turning red!" Beast Boy chuckled and Robin did his best to ignore it by looking back down at the mask.

Robin had been thinking, alright. Thinking about spiders and kittens and pocket lint and mold and _**anything**_ that could distract him from the raging thought of SEX that whizzed through his brain as Slade's little gift came back to life, vibrating _longer_ and much _harder_ than before.

He cleared his throat, trying hard to keep control over his body, "I'm not sure." He pretended to study the mask with keen interest, scratching his chin before tugging on the black and white cowl. The sound that followed was surprising. As the mask was removed, the whole back of it seemed to rip out the the foam padding… that wasn't supposed to happen.

Robin quickly pulled the mask away, looking back and forth between it and the foam with a puzzled expression.

"Did it melt?" Cyborg asked, astonished.

"It can't have…" Robin said, opening the mask to try and look inside it, finding a good deal of the foam padding crumbled to pieces inside. "It's like the _foam_ melted into it… Cyborg," he turned to the eldest Titan, holing the cowl up to his arm. "Scan it for Xenothium."

Robin watched as Cyborg lifted his scanners to the fabric, paying close attention to the human eye because he knew that it would give an answer before Cyborg would have been able to verbalize it. The moment he saw, he knew.

"Negative," Robin stood and Cyborg nodded, his mouth partly open with the answer he hadn't been able to speak.

"So… it's a fake?" Beast Boy said, looking at the cowl with wide eyes. "That's a pretty good fake…"

"The tracker is still in it…" Robin noted, pulling out his communicator as it beeped. "I just received an alert that it had been removed from the box."

"So… It's not fake," the Changeling pondered, scratching his head.

"It still could be," Robin replied, blushing again when he felt a certain vibration returning to bother him quite vigorously.

"UGH! So is it a fake or not? I'm going crazy here!" Beast Boy stomped his foot on the ground.

"Only one way to find out, I guess," Robin said, placing the mask back inside the thick metal box, which echoed hard against the walls as he closed it. "I have to visit the rest of the pieces."

* * *

Robin walked promptly into his bathroom and locked the door. He'd _tried_ to pack for his upcoming trip, but the damned egg Slade forced on him -or rather, _in_ him- kept vibrating. He pulled down his pants and swore as his erection bounced up in greeting.

"Stupid.. Slade…" He muttered, reaching for a small container and lubing up his fingers before reaching behind and pushing them inside. He growled through his arousal, finding it difficult to concentrate when his body seemed to think that it was the perfect time to feel ridiculously hot. His fingers bumped against the vibrating contraption and Robin grit his teeth, digging deeper until he was able to scoop the damn thing out. It fell to the floor with a clack and then instantly began to screech.

"Woah! WOAH! DAMN IT!" Robin scrambled for the metal ball, enduring the pain in his ears as best he could. He grabbed the contraption and studied it in his hands, trying to find the damn switch until it dawned on him that there _was_ _no damned switch._ "Son of a…" The hero growled, quickly washing off the ball and putting it back in the only place that would keep it quiet. He was right, of course, about an inch or two inside him, the thing went silent again. It even dared to reward him with a long vibration that sent shivers up and down his spine. "That fucking bastard…"

Robin cleaned his hands before marching back into his room, wrenching open one of his drawers and pulling out a small communicator.

He waited through a particularly long vibration before the fucking bastard in question finally answered his phone.

"Robin, what a pleasant surprise. And so early in the morning, too."

Robin blinked at the tiny screen, "Were you _sleeping_?"

"Yes. I do actually do that on occasion, you realize."

"What I _realize_ is that your little ball _thing_ is bugging the hell out of me."

"Poor little Grayson," Slade mock-soothed. "You'll just have to come here for me to fix it."

"I'm a little busy, Slade. Just tell me how to turn it off."

"I did. You come here, I shut it off. Otherwise you deal with it."

"What if I have to take a shit or something?" Robin growled, blushing furiously.

"Do it over here," Slade smirked and shrugged. "Or deal with that too."

"God damn it," the teen pouted. "_Fine_… where are you?"

"Oh, I'm not going to _tell_ you. I expect you to _find_ me."

"_What?_" Robin's eyes widened under his mask, "You're kidding."

"Do I look like the Joker?" the edge of Slade's mouth remained tilted in a smirk. "Have fun looking, and remember to wear them when you come."

The screen went blank and Robin swore. He then threw the communicator to the floor.

"_Where them!_" he mocked, "Oh, I'll wear the damn nipple rings, I'll wear them right up your-" And that's when Robin realized that Slade had been giving him a clue. His location was on the data disc that Slade had left him. He reached into his belt and pulled out the small device, growling at a particularly hard vibration that emanated from inside him.

He moved over to his personal laptop. Each Titan had one, just a little something that was completely their own, separate from the main computer, which was linked in with the Justice League database. Once the laptop was on and functioning, he shoved the data disk into a port, waiting impatiently for the window to pop up and ask him if he wanted to view the files. Instead, a window opened to display a very curious message.

If you look, you likely can't see me.

If you can see me, you likely will not know me.

If you know me, you likely can control me if you try.

If you control me, you only control yourself.

Where you should fall, I can make you fly.

If you fall, I die.

Sometimes I speak the deeper truths.

And sometimes I spread the most brilliant lies.

What am I?

"Fuck, Seriously?" Robin groaned and then jumped. The damn egg had shocked him! "Damn it, damn it… Alright…" He tried to sit down, but jumped up almost instantly when the egg gave a sharp vibration. He gave another growl and set the computer on a shelf, standing with his legs farther apart than seemed natural.

"Alright…" he repeated, looking over the riddle. "Can't see me… won't know me… Damn it! Okay… You only control yourself… So, it's definitely a part of me… I can only control it if I know what it is… but if I see it… I probably won't know it… Damn vibrating... I can fly… but if I fall it dies… Deeper truths and lies… When do I lie to myself? And when do I tell deeper truths… Deeper than what?" Robin clenched the edge of the shelf, resisting the urge to rub himself on it. "Deeper than… the real truth? How can it be deeper than that?... By finding the cause behind it? But how can I find the deeper truth if I can't see it when I look?... So… I can only find it when I'm not looking… So, I just have to lie around and wait for it to find me? That's ridiculous! That…" he paused, thinking it over a bit more and ignoring the stinging shockwave that the egg sent through him. "Not lie… Sleep." He murmured, eyes darting back over the words. "It's a dream!"

He quickly leaned over the computer once again, typing furiously into the empty text box and delighting when another window popped up. It was a map of Jump, marked with a single "S," floating above one of the city's most prominent hotels.

"Found you," Robin smirked.

* * *

Slade let the towel drop over his shoulders and gave an invigorated sigh. Nothing compared to a cold shower first thing in the morning. He moved over at his laptop and gave a sly smile, closing it just in time to hear the faintest sound of a bird landing on his balcony.

"A deluxe suite? Not very subtle of you," Robin remarked as he pulled open the doors and stepped inside, dumping a backpack on the floor as the older man began to speak.

"A condo, actually." Slade replied, noticing with a certain satisfaction that Robin's expression was one that lacked patience. "Though I haven't rented it out for years."

"Fascinating." The teen responded quickly. "Now take off that robe and fuck me."

"So impatient. I suppose now isn't the time to talk, then."

"No," Robin agreed, snapping off his belt and letting it fall to the floor. "It's a terrible time."

"That's a shame," Slade said offhandedly as he watched the hero lift his tight shirt off his back and toss it to the floor, making a trail of clothes as he moved toward the villain.

"A tragedy," Robin agreed yet again, dropping his pants and finding with grave disappointment that he should have removed his shoes first. He sunk to the floor with a growl, trying to remedy the situation as quickly as possible.

"Indeed… Especially because you broke the contract last night."

The hero froze. "… I didn't."

"Oh, yes," Slade smirked. "You _did_. 'No information learned through, or in light of, our meetings can be used with criminal orheroic intention.' "

"And just _how_ did I break that rule?" Robin glared, his anger and fear at the accusation halting his hormones, if only for a moment.

"Simple. You let me get away." Slade answered, his voice a low and deadly purr. "You knew where I was and you chose to deceive your friends. You _used_ the information to play a criminal part."

"Fuck's sake. By _that_ logic, it would be against the rules for you to lie to another criminal about my identity if they found out."

"Yes, a regular catch-twenty-two," Slade nodded. "Of course, there is a fairly easy way to remedy that."

"How?" Robin grunted, "By allowing me to use the information for criminal acts and allowing you to use the information for hero-work? Yeah, that'll work."

"Yes, actually, that would work. I was going to suggest that when the situation was unavoidable or warranted a greater good, then the rules could be… bent… as it were."

Robin went back to pulling off his shoes, this time much more slowly. "Define greater good…"

"Well," Slade smiled, leaning down and pulling off one of the teen's boots. "For example, what if the only way to save your life was to contact Bruce Wayne? Or… perhaps if you were to tell the Justice League my identity to prevent some sort of calamity…"

"Are you expecting one?" Robin asked suspiciously, a brow raised high under his mask.

"Now seems like the perfect time to expect it, wouldn't you say? Whoever is after me doesn't seem to mind the idea of my death."

"What do you care? You're practically invincible."

"Practically is far from definitely," Slade replied in a soft tone that threw Robin off guard with its humility. He hated it when Slade did that.

The egg inside the teen seemed to have decided that things had become far too peaceful and sprang to life with a hard vibration, making Robin jump and turn on his side.

"God… Dammit!" Robin glared daggers at Slade and growled. "Alright, I agree… When the greater _good, _and not just our own personal desires, is clearly on the line, the rules can be bent while the rest of the contract stays in place."

"You know the drill," Slade smirked down at the teen, victorious as he extended his hand and waited for the teen to shake it.

"Right. Deal. Shake," He took the man's hand in his own and shook it rigorously. "Now hurry up and turn off the stupid vibrating ball-thing and fuck me like there is no tomorrow."

"Well, there is still the issue of you breaking the contract. I think a blowjob is suitable punishment."

"Be my guest," Robin said in a snarky voice, gesturing graciously to his erection. One look from Slade and the joke was over. "Fine, fine. If it'll shut you up."

Slade gave a scoundrel's smile as Robin very nearly tackled him, untying the robe with such speed and precision that the villain had only seen in their most brutal fights.

"Patience, Grayson," Slade soothed in his darkest bedroom voice as he grabbed Robin's wrists in one hand. "The mask goes first."

Robin allowed the villain's strong hand to grab a corner of his black mask, pulling it until the seal of glue broke away to reveal the stunning blue eyes behind it.

"Gorgeous," Slade whispered with a pleased smile. "The only thing that could improve them is the angle." Robin gave the villain a curious look as he stood to his feet and tilted his head down to gloat at the teen. "There… perfect."

"You've put far too much thought into this, ya' creeper." Robin smirked, getting to his knees and half crawling to meet the man's length. "It's _just_ a _blowjob_."

Slade smiled down at the teen. "With eyes like _that_, kid, it's far from _just_ a blowjob."

Robin fought the blush that threatened his cheeks and turned his attention to the lovely giant distraction in front of him. Slade's cock was only half hard, making a tasty looking semi-arch that ended at the head, which was only just peeking out of the foreskin, already about to drip with the first wave of pre-cum. The hero opened his mouth, extending his tongue out to greet the creamy bead just as it started to take the plunge.

Slade paid close attention, feeling the teen's tongue lick his head and listening to the sound of him swallowing. He smiled. "Good, Robin… now look at me."

The hero held his breath, moving his mouth deeper over Slade's thickness as he slowly opened his eyes, revealing the endless blue color that no hot-blooded man could ignore. Robin grinned when he felt the villain's length hardening inside his mouth, jerking slightly as it let out another wave of precum that the hero could feel sliding down his throat. He gave a long moan, tasting the shower water and tiny hints of soap left on Slade's skin as he pushed on, letting the cock push deep into his throat and swallowing hard when his lips reached the base.

Slade gave a soft, appreciative sound and smiled down at his tainted little hero. The smile widened when he thought back to the first time those pretty lips parted for him. He remembered with delight the way they froze, quivering slightly as if Robin lost his nerve at the first sign of inexperience or imperfection. To say he had come a long way from being that pure little virgin was a gross understatement. The hero had always been an overachiever and now was certainly no different. Whatever he set to do, he made sure to excel at.

He let out a long moan, blue eyes locked onto grey as he raised his hands to either side of Slade's groin, letting his fingers occasionally brush against the very base of the man's penis and tickle down the front of his testicles. The teen couldn't help but mentally congratulate himself on a job well done. Not only could he _handle_ Slade, but the reaction from the man's body told him that he was _particularly_ fantastic at fellatio.

Robin pulled back, grabbing the thick shaft in his hand and licking the tip, getting a full taste of the precum that seemed to be more of a constant dribble than a few quick shots. He gave his best bedroom eyes as he pushed the edge of his mouth against the slit and smeared the pearly liquid across his lips.

"Lick it up," Slade commanded, watching the boy's tongue move slowly out of his mouth and slide over the slickened lips. "Good boy. Now swallow it."

Robin did, making enough of a show of it that Slade _knew_ he'd done it and earning a gentle stoke through his hair as a reward. He continued with a smile, taking the head into his mouth and digging his tongue harder against the slit, earning a larger dose of precum which he swallowed also, much to Slade's apparent delight. The mix of cum and the vague taste of soap against Robin's tongue was strange, highlighting the metallic taste that seemed natural when paired with Slade's body.

The hero's hands wandered, one moving up to Slade's hip while the other took full advantage of the dangling pair of toys in front of him. Robin cupped the balls in his hand, moving them back and forth over his palm before his middle finger wandered back to tease the man's perineum. They seemed larger than he remembered, perhaps because he'd never played with them just after Slade had woken up. There was a certain tightness to them that Robin couldn't help but delight over, wondering just how much the man could actually come in one go.

The jump in Slade's muscles told him that he was about to find out. Robin gave the man a quick smirk and looked at him through half-lidded blue eyes while he pushed his mouth back over the villain's penis, taking it to the hilt and swallowing around it before he began to move in a pattern. The teen let out a surprised groan of pleasure when the little egg inside him began to vibrate pleasantly, sending waves of sensation through his own erection, which was now begging to be touched.

Slade watched the hand move from his hip and disappear under the hero. His body let out a shiver with the feeling of his impending release as he watched Robin. His blue eyes were mostly closed, brows furrowed while his tongue slid up and down the length of Slade's cock. The villain could see his shoulder moving, evidence of the furious stroking that was taking place just out of his view.

"Robin," Slade breathed, gathering the attention of the teen, who opened his eyes, revealing the captivating blue. The man gave a half-smirk when the blue eyes widened as Slade let out the first stream of hot liquid. The teen moaned and swallowed, feeling the liquid pour down his throat and into his stomach as his hand squeezed harder on his own erection.

The hero shivered slightly, feeling the rush of blood crawling up his neck into a deep blush as Slade thrust into his throat. He could feel the man's penis swelling and dwindling with each new push that sent more cum shooting into his throat, and a hand in his hair told him that the villain wasn't about to stop any time soon.

A small sound of protest from the teen and the mad blush on his cheeks told Slade that Robin needed air. After deciding that, no, letting Robin pass out was _not_ the best idea, Slade relented and pulled his cock out, holding it firmly at the base to prevent himself from coming while the teen took in a gasp of air.

Robin moaned letting his eyes close gently as the air filled his lungs, his head turned slightly to the side as he breathed, unintentionally giving the villain a perfect view of his hand as he stroked himself. He felt a warm stream of liquid hit his cheek and smirked up at the villain who seemed a little frustrated at the wasted shot. Without even the chance to tease, Robin felt the hand in his hair dragging him back into place. He hardly even opened his mouth before the next shot bust over his tongue and followed by the much thicker member that almost instantly hit the back of Robin's throat.

The hero gave a frustrated growl, glaring up at the man who looked back with a domineering stare.

"Swallow it," Slade commanded, pulling harder on the long black hair until the teen finally relented, opening his throat and allowing the villain to thrust inside it.

The teen gave an astonished look when Slade came once again, sending the hot mess straight down Robin's throat. Suddenly the teen was less interested in how much Slade _could_ come, and more interested in when the hell he would _stop_. Tired of having his throat fucked relentlessly by the villain, Robin tightened the hand on Slade's balls, rubbing them against the man's groin with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary.

It seemed to help, Robin thought hopefully, at least the cock in his throat wasn't quite as forceful, it even seemed a little softer.

Slade gave one final thrust into the teen, making it hard for no other reason than to get the job done, and then the pulled out almost completely, leaving the tip of his penis resting on Robin's lips.

"Save some for later, why don't you…" Robin grumbled, turning his head away and stretching his jaw.

"You'll just have to get your fill now," Slade teased, pushing his dwindling hardness back against the hero's lips. "Lick it clean."

Robin, hand moving rapidly against his own cock, extended his tongue and cleaned away the mess. The blue eyes remained locked onto the gray, though it was unclear if the teen meant to glare or gloat by doing it. Slade seemed to enjoy himself either way, smiling fondly at the teen before running his finger over the cum streak that had fallen just left of the hero's nose.

He held the finger out expectantly and Robin, giving him the same unreadable look as before, slowly moved his mouth over and snuck the digit past his lips, cleaning it with his tongue. Robin then pulled away, leaning back as he stroked himself, he then gave Slade a deliberately needy look and quietly spoke.

"Touch me," he whispered, blue eyes molded into a pleading stare that Slade knew he was powerless to resist.

The villain lowered himself to his knees, and swiftly leering over the teen.

"Kiss me," Robin insisted, his voice still low and sweet.

Slade gave his scoundrel's smirk before leaning forward and capturing one of the golden nipple rings between his teeth. Robin rolled his eyes and smiled, that wasn't really the kind of kiss he had asked for. A moment later, Robin didn't care what kind of kiss it was, just as long as the hand on his cock kept moving.

Slade pushed Robin down to the flat of his back giving the teen a gracious smirk before he began to drift down, planting nips and kisses in a trail that led directly to the teen's erection… only it didn't stop there.

"Slade, wha-" The villain's hands grabbed Robin's legs from behind the knees, bending them over and pushing them against either side of the hero's body, effectively folding him in half. The nips continued over the underside of the hero's cock, teasing him with licks both fast and slow, hard and soft. Robin, naturally, didn't stand a chance. "Shit!" he moaned, trying to arch his back as he came but finding that it really wasn't possible with Slade's hands holding him down.

_Shit?_ Slade couldn't help but chuckle. He knew Robin was particularly articulate in the morning, especially when he was sleep deprived, but _really_.

"Fingers!" Robin demanded, hips moving the little that they could as he moaned through his orgasm.

Slade, as he bit lightly on Robin's sac, obeyed by gathering a bit of the cum that had splattered over the teen's stomach and quickly pushing his fingers inside. Robin groaned when villain pushed against the little metal ball, which was once again buzzing.

It was over entirely too quickly for Robin. Unlike the marathon orgasm that Slade had created, Robin was done in just a few moment's time, looking a little worn out and very messy, but otherwise very satisfied.

Slade pulled back with another triumphant smile.

"Now get that fucking thing out of me," Robin groaned and rolled onto his stomach, making sure that his ass was in the air just enough to fetch the stupid contraption out.

"Honestly, Robin. It was a _gift_. You should show a bit more gratitude."

"Gratitude my ass," the hero mumbled into the carpet, shaking his hips a bit to emphasize that he was waiting.

"Kids these days," the villain sighed, dipping his fingers into the teen once again and pulling out the ball. He quickly traced his finger over the "S" etched on the side and then said "Deactivate."

"That's it?" Robin growled, his blue eyes glaring up from the carpet.

"No need for it to be complicated, I think," Slade teased. "Now go take a shower while I make some breakfast."

"Oh, really? But I just ate." Robin deadpanned.

"Cute, Grayson." Slade mocked in a tone that only Robin could identify as playful. "But you need more in your stomach than cum."

"Picky, picky," The teen stood and stretched, wincing when his throat, cock and ass all starting throbbing. He gave Slade one final glare before he grabbed his communicator and moved towards the bathroom.

* * *

"Hey Robin," Raven's voice sounded through the communicator. "Are at the airport?"

"Yeah," Robin lied. "And my flight has been delayed for a few hours. Lucky me."

"Go buy a book," Raven replied in a tone that told Robin he wouldn't be getting any sympathy from her.

"At least tell me that Chang knew something."

"No," Raven said, "And I don't think he was lying when he told us that. He's been in jail for a few years, so it's not like there was much time to sell xenothium."

"Damn. Well, back to the drawing board."

"Beast Boy has one set up," Raven said helpfully. "He's even got it narrowed down to sewer mutants and the robot uprising. You should have seen the look Cyborg gave him."

"It's times like this that I'm glad to be on working vacation," Robin sighed. "Just keep them from killing each other, would you?"

Robin could swear that he heard Raven's little smirk through the communicator. "No promises."

* * *

Slade gave a lusty sort of smile when Robin walked out of the bathroom ten minutes later. Bare ass naked.

"Good shower?" he asked as he closed his laptop and gestured to the breakfast on the counter.

Robin nodded and took a piece of the toast, eating it quickly.

"You look a little pale," Slade said, tilting his head to the side. "Are you feeling alright?"

The teen nodded again, swallowing his bite before speaking. "Just a little hungry. Plus the steam from the shower didn't help my stomach."

"Your stomach hurts?" Slade asked, showing a bit more concern than Robin wanted from him.

"I'm just tired. And hungry." Robin tried not to growl, hinting that he would feel a little better if Slade would shut the hell up and let him eat.

Slade took the hint and tried for a different tactic, "I was just curious. You know that the airports don't let people fly if they're ill."

"I'll be fine, Sl… How did you know I was flying?"

"How else would you get to Gotham?" Slade teased. "That's where you sent it, right? That brilliant little suit of yours?"

"You…" Robin growled. "How did you know?"

"The xenothium, naturally." Slade hummed, giving the teen a knowing look. "You'll need the suit to fight fire with fire."

Somewhere deep inside, Robin let out a mental sound of relief. Slade always seemed to know everything, but it seemed he was only making guesses about Robin's little trip.

"That's none of your business," Robin said decidedly. "I already told you that we weren't going to work with you on this."

"Suit yourself," Slade smirked.

"Pun intended?" Robin asked as he grabbed the breakfast plate and began eating.

"Very much so," Slade responded, grabbing his own plate and smirking at Robin over his eggs.

* * *

I'll try to get the next chapter out in a more timely manner, but chances are that I won't even be able to start them until after finals. In the mean time, enjoy Wynja's 2010 Christmas drabbles (I know I will!)

Also... make sure you are paying attention to little things... Somewhere under all the smut, the plot is building ^,~


	22. Chapter 22

Hellooooo everyone! Did you miss me?... Okay, here's a better question, did you miss the SMUT? Yeah, I thought so. It's the end of the semester and I really should be studying for finals, but instead I'm posting this. It's been a while, so we'll do a brief recap:

Slade and Robin are fuck-enemies who have agreed that

**1.)** _No information learned through, or in light of, their meetings can be used with malicious- or heroic- intention _ (which basically means that they can't use each other's information to get the upper hand. Robin can't use Slade's information to get him arrested, and Slade can't use Robin's information to blackmail him, etc.)  
***NOTE: **There was an amendment to this agreement where they can use the information they know, in order to preserve the greater good. For instance, if Slade or Robin was in mortal peril, the other could use the information they knew to try and save them (Pay attention to that clause, it's a big one!)

**2.)** Slade has agreed to never kill a Titan or Batman if Robin honors his agreement to let him _try_ to kill the person behind the theft and attacks.  
***NOTE:** Robin and Slade have a bet on who will win. The loser has to be completely submissive for one night.

(Hopefully that answered your questions about the rules, Peeta's. If it didn't feel free to ask any questions, I'll try to repond!)

Currently, Slade and Robin are both after same the person(s) who stole Slade-bots, attacked the Titans, spied on Robin, attempted to kill Slade, and who have been creating general chaos in Jump. So far, it's been determined that whoever is behind the naughty business is technologically savvy (they were able to re-program Slade-bots and use the nano-probes to attack Slade) and has a recently begun using Xenothium powered robots. Robin intends to examine the pieces of the Red X suit to see if the villain is back in business.

Now that you're all caught up on the plot… this chapter is pretty much just smutty filler. There is also a section filled with POV-switches. I toned it down after my beta read it, but it still might be a little confusing.

Chapter 22

* * *

Robin awoke with a satisfied little moan and a lazy smile. Judging by the steady breath on the back of his neck, Slade was still sleeping. Their bodies were more or less spooning, as the villain's front was pressed against Robin's back, one arm wrapped around him while the teen used the other as a crude sort of pillow.

They had _not_ been cuddling. Their current position was simply the result of foreplay that Robin didn't have the stamina to push on with. He had fallen asleep to the feeling of Slade playing with his nipple ring. Apparently, Slade had fallen asleep soon after because the hand had slipped over a few inches and was resting very gently against the lean chest, perhaps just enough to feel the heart beating under the skin.

Robin nearly groaned at the sentimental thought.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Slade said, his hand automatically searching out and toying with one of the small gold rings.

"Thought _you_ were sleeping," Robin mumbled, already starting to feel himself hardening. He didn't want to get too comfortable, though. His alarm was likely to go off at any moment, telling him that it was time to stop fucking around and head to the airport.

"I was," Slade said, leaning into the teen's neck and planting a row of small kisses, "How is your stomach?"

"If you want to know if I'm okay to fuck, then just ask me," the teen deadpanned, trying to ignore the goose bumps that Slade's beard against his skin had created.

"Such a dirty mouth and so soon after waking up," Slade chuckled letting his hand drift down the teen's stomach and brush lightly against the stalk of his penis. "Must have been a fun dream you woke up from."

Robin tried to ignore the man, but when the course fingers wrapped around his shaft, his body decided that it would rather _not_ ignore him.

"I think I owe you a wake-up-fuck, anyway," the man said in a rich and raspy tone that went straight through him.

"As lovely as that sounds, Slade," Robin shooed the hand away and sat up. "I've got a plane to catch."

"Oh, is _that_ what the alarm was for?" The man propped himself up on his elbow and smirked at the teen. "You slept through it several times, you know. That was hours ago."

Robin paused, turning slowly before catching a glimpse of the man's expression. He was smirking, but it was the kind that meant he _wasn't_ joking. "Shit."

"Don't worry. You're flying with me, anyway," Slade informed him quite politely. Before wrapping an arm around his waist and dragging him back down to the bed.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me that _you're_ going to Gotham," Robin glared. "That's cheating! You're only going because I'm going!"

"On the contrary, Grayson," Slade mused, not only at the hero's quick assumption, but also at the fact that he didn't fight the idea of a little romp before they left. "I have my own reasons for going there… Although, I don't mind the idea of a little rendezvous by the Bat-signal."

"No," Dick said very plainly, his attempt to be as clear as possible.

"Pity," Slade hummed, nipping at the teen's ear and brushing his hands over the gold rings. They had returned to nearly the same position that they woken from, both on their sides with Robin's back pressed against Slade's chest. "Ah, well. I suppose I'll just content myself with watching you _writhe_ in orgasm before we go."

The hero let out a frustrated little frown at the pressure in his groin. He was supposed to be on a plane by now, bored out of his mind, but on his way to Gotham- but that wasn't the frustrating part. What frustrated Robin most was that he was _supposed_ to care about his heroic schedule being thrown out of whack. He was _supposed_ to prioritize his schedule above sex and far, _far_ above Slade.

"Put it in!" Robin groaned, feeling a wet tip digging hard against his back.

"What's the rush?" Slade whispered in a low voice that echoed danger in the teen's brain. "I want to take my time with you."

"Don't be a bastard," the hero grumped, reaching for a bottle of lubricant that had, by no accident, been placed on the bedside table. "Fuck me and let's go. I can't wait all day for you to come"

"You want a quickie? Alright," Slade chuckled, taking the bottle from the teen and uncapping it. "On your knees, pretty boy. Hands on the headboard."

Robin complied with a quick, half-heated glare. Even though he would have much rather spent the rest of the day being fucked into the bed, he knew he should at least _pretend_ that he wanted to get to Gotham as quickly as possible.

"Well?" Robin cast a fast and impatient glance over his shoulder as his hands gripped the headboard.

Slade gave a cold smirk as he coated his erection generously and moved into position. "I'm disappointed that I could never teach you patience, Grayson, but perhaps it's not too late for manners?"

"Want me to ask nicely?" Robin teased, wiggling his hips slightly and delighting in the lusty little chuckle he received.

"You never ask, you just demand," the villain quipped as he let his hands wander over the teen's skin. "But I expect a damn-sincere thank you."

Robin gasped and jolted as Slade entered him. He was fast, thick, and mercilessly hard as he began thrusting into the hero, digging his fingers into the soft skin and musing over the way the teen squirmed but moved closer, silently demanding more.

Dick spread his legs a bit wider, trying to disperse the force of the man's movements more evenly. As it was, his arms were threatening to buckle under the pressure of the man's thrusting and they had already migrated a few inches toward the headboard. There were no complaints, though, only gasps, moans, and grunts as they each found a rhythm.

Slade hummed into his lover's ear, letting his right hand wander up the teen's stomach while the left stayed firmly planted on the teen's hip. "Turn your head," the villain commanded in a low whisper. "I want to kiss you while we fuck."

Robin moaned gently as he turned, pushing his lips against Slade's and feeling a warm tongue slither across his lower lip, gently tickling the skin and prompting the teen to open his mouth. Slade's familiar taste, warm with hints of blood and metal, flooded over his tongue and Robin growled in protest as the rhythm of the man's thrusts slowed, settling into a series of long but significantly slower movements. Slade's hand had wandered up to his throat and was gently teasing over the surface of his Adam's apple as his tongue moved deeper, wriggling against the hero's.

Making the best of the situation, Robin let himself be drawn in to the heat and the taste of the kiss while his free hand took advantage of the less forceful movements and snuck between his legs. He ran hand over the tip of his length, pushing against the slit and whimpering slightly when he felt a short burst of precome hit his fingers.

Slade seemed to have sensed the change in the hero's demeanor, because the hand on the teen's hip was suddenly next to Robin's, stroking the length in time with the deep thrusts.

"Mmm… more!" Robin gasped, untangling their tongues, only long enough to speak before the kiss resumed, every bit as deep and warm as before. The hero felt a dizzying rush of blood through his body as the villain's tongue swirled around his own. It was strange just how much a bit of sleep could improve the senses, Robin mused. It was as if everything had suddenly come alive, as if every nerve ending in his body was suddenly writhing in the same pleasure reserved only for his more _sensitive_ areas.

The hand on his throat pressed and teased in just the right ways while the hand on his cock took over, squeezing and manipulating the tender flesh. Slade's chest pressed hard onto his back, dry for the moment but in enough time they would both be covered with a thin sheet of sweat. Robin knew he cherished those moments the above all others, the moments where he lay panting, shaking, unsure if he could take any more but positive he wouldn't ask for reprieve. The moment right before orgasm, he realized not long ago, felt exactly like the brief moment after jumping from a tall structure. There was always that tiny little moment in time, just before the fall, where the jumper felt weightless, almost lost in the fear that they would never be able to come down, no matter how hard they tried.

Robin whimpered as his cock tapped against the cool headboard, hitting it lightly with each of the slow thrusts delivered by the man. The light sound of lips smacking apart was followed by a throaty chuckle from the villain, who nuzzled and nibbled the teen's neck before whispering.

"Seems I have you trapped… Maybe I should fuck you mercilessly now… grind that pretty little member against the wood until you beg for mercy."

"You know better than that. I don't beg," Robin chuckled back, already feeling his body pressing harder against the surface and clenching in retaliation, delighting in the break in Slade's breathing, evidence of the tiny gasp he released from his lips. "Seems I have _you_ trapped," the hero smirked over his shoulder, using his muscles to slowly milk the man into submission. It was a flawless effort, but one that was met with the iron will of the villain, slowing the progress considerably.

"Good boy," Slade purred, his hand moving over the teen's cock more furiously.

"Ahh- don't! I'm going to cum!" Dick tried to keep his voice from sounding surprised, frowning as it came out needy and weak.

"Isn't that the point?" Slade hummed, sensing the hero's body tightening as he tried to fend off the orgasm.

Robin could feel a blush crawling over his cheeks, frustrated at the sudden urge to cum and even more so by Slade's taunting. Their current little tryst _was_, as Slade so kindly reminded, _supposed_ to be a quickie, but that didn't mean that Robin actually _wanted_ it to be over in a flash! Hell, they were just getting started! Why was he even _close_ to coming? The hero grumbled incoherently through clenched teeth. It was probably the result of sleeping with his ass so perilously close to Slade's crotch; the damn thing probably kicked his body into overdrive when he wasn't even aware of it.

"Shut up and fuck me, old man," the hero hissed as he wrapped his hand around the base of his penis and squeezed, every bit determined to last as long as his partner.

"Don't fight it," Slade whispered into the teen's ear. "Who knows when we'll have another chance like this? Surely not until you get back from Gotham… Wouldn't want Daddy Bats to find you covered in my cum."

"Hey," Robin growled, turning his head to cast a cocky glare at the villain. He knew Slade was only teasing, but the mention of Bruce seeing them during sex brought up two very cold thoughts in his brain: One, that Bruce would find out their little secret, and two, that Slade would dare bring up a parent- or even a parent _figure_- during sex. "Want me to talk about _your_ mom right now?"

Slade, for just a miniscule fraction of a moment, looked taken aback, but it was covered quickly by his smirk. Dick refused to think of Batman in the same way as he did Slade? Interesting…

"Touché, Grayson. My apologies. Here… I'll make it up to you." With the precision of a master assassin, Slade slipped part way under the hero. He balanced himself quickly on his shins while grabbing Robin's body and pulling him along.

Robin tried not to whimper at the feeling of his cock on the brink of release, thankfully, Slade had released his grip over it in favor of holding his body steady. They were both leaning back, creating a lovely little angle that was held in place only by the muscles of Slade's legs and an effort from both parties to keep their bodies balanced.

"Better?" Slade asked, rolling his hips slowly and letting the hero reap the benefits. The teen nodded carefully, holding his breath as he wrapped his hand harder over his erection. Slade chuckled and ran his tongue over the shell of Robin's ear, "It's almost like a challenge when you fight it like that." He began moving his hips faster, building up a smooth rhythm as he held the smaller body in place. He took a very small moment to push hard and fast into the hero, then withdrew painfully slowly as he whispered, "I love watching you struggle."

Robin gave a nearly silent gasp as the pressure built inside his body, pooling in his groin like an itch begging to be scratched. Slade's hand was pressing hard against his chest, holding him in place along with a hand that was digging hard into his hip.

"N-n- don…" Robin whimpered, breathing harder while his hand seemed to struggle with the decision to fight off his orgasm and to find it.

Slade smiled contently at the little sound from the hero's lips. It was nearly pleading, helpless in the sensations that left both men wet and wanting. Robin would never actually say with words everything that the tiny little sound conveyed. Stubborn little bird, his body was more honest than his willpower. Slade chuckled and licked up the side of the teen's neck, giving only tiny nips that wouldn't dare leave a mark on the hero's skin.

"Harder," Robin panted, trying to push himself up against the man's teeth, asking for the kind of pain that only the villain could give him.

Slade only growled and tickled the boy's neck with his tongue. He wouldn't dare leave a mark, at least not that night. There was too much at stake between them if he was found out.

When Robin gave a growl of protest, the villain only smirked and reached between the teen's legs, fondling the pair of balls that were tightened in preparation for the impending orgasm. Robin's hand tried to push the hand away, but Slade only chuckled darkly, running his finger under the other's length and feeling the teen arch against him.

"Bastar-Ahhaah!" Robin cried, wrenching his head to the side as though a sudden reflex had overtaken him.

A wave of heat and stinging-numbness ripped through the teen's body, splattering across the sheets in thick, cream-colored puddles. Slade thrust harder into the teen, almost absentmindedly because his attention was focused on the hero's expression. The deep blue eyes were opened wide once again, left unprotected and seeming surprised at the intensity of his own climax. His mouth was open, lips parted as he let out a choked and almost silent groan of pleasure.

The teen gave one last, very violent shiver before collapsing against the headboard, panting for air and turning his head slightly to give a greedy leer at the man. The villain took a moment to stroke himself and enjoy the sight of the quivering little mess of a hero as he cast a raw and sated look over his shoulder, blue eyes shining with a mischievous little gleam. The only thing missing from the picture was _his_ cum sliding down the teen's thighs.

Slade's breath sounded hard and restrained against the hero's ears, and though he could feel the heat of it hitting his back with each breath, it cooled too quickly and left the younger man with goose skin that tingled pleasantly just before the next gust of air hit. Now was the perfect time to turn the tables on the sneaky bastard.

Slade's eye widened just a hair as Robin gave a contented groan and stood from the bed.

"Well, ahhh! That was nice. I'll be in the shower," Dick prattled as he moved quickly to the bathroom, ignoring the surprise in the man's expression as he tried to hide his own little smirk.

Slade watched as his little hero's ass disappeared into the bathroom, followed by the wooden door which swung shut with a resolute sound. That was a first. Not many people dared to leave a man like Slade hard up, at least not _literally_. But, then again, Robin was probably just teasing, waiting with legs spread on the countertop. Slade leered and stood to his feet. Best not to keep the little bird waiting.

* * *

He opened the door to the sight of Robin standing naked in the glass shower, washing a thin layer of soap suds off his chest. The cocky little hero turned and gave him an innocent sort of smile, as if to completely ignore the fact that he was blatantly teasing the man. Slade stroked himself casually as he moved closer, pulling open the shower door and stepping inside.

"It's all yours," Robin said cordially as he side-stepped the man with a now very apparent smirk. To his surprise, the man didn't grab him as he opened the door and slipped out of the shower. Perhaps the man was just in shock, poor bastard. The teen could hardly contain his glee as he cast the man a very quick glance.

"Forgetting something?" Slade asked, his voice smooth but deceptively calm.

"No, I don't think so," Dick said airily, grabbing a brush and running it through his hair, turning back to Slade with a triumphant grin. "You're content with just watching me _writhe_ in orgasm, right? That's what you said anyway." He shrugged and turned to face the other, standing with one hip cocked to the side. His length was flaccid, but only just, as it gave a tiny little twitch of attention.

"Not _quite_ what I meant," the man replied, noting the teen's crotch and the tiny bit of curve that his length was beginning to show before he returned the hero's shrug. "But I suppose I'll simply do it myself… Seeing as I actually _can_ do it myself."

Yes, that put the little hero in his place quite nicely. Slade's smirk widened just as Robin's faltered.

"Be my guest, then." Robin shrugged again, not managing to make it look quite so nonchalant as before. Damn bastard, _rubbing_ in the fact that the hero couldn't _climax_ without him. That was a bit of a _low_ blow, even for a _stiff_ tight _ass_ like… Robin blinked and turned away to hide his blush. No wonder Slade was winning their little game, the teen's brain was boiling over with innuendos.

Just like that, Slade had once again taken the upper hand, standing in the glass shower, stroking himself with a triumphant sort of leer. It just wasn't fair. Robin gave another sideways glance at the man as he reached for one of the white towels that hung immaculately on the rack. Slade was watching him, almost indifferently as he pressed one hand to the glass and moved his other hand faster, letting his breathing thicken audibly in the steam that was building inside the shower.

Robin frowned and looked instead at the floor, concentrating his gaze on the grout between the tiles as if it was perhaps the most fascinating thing in existence. It really wasn't. And it really wasn't working to distract him, either. He tried to think of something else, anything really, to keep from getting hard. And that _really_ didn't work.

"It's not too late," Slade offered in a low purr that Robin couldn't help but turn toward in hope. Alas, though, it was a trick. The blue eyes turned just in time to see the first streak of white shoot against the glass, followed by another that sprawled along the first, thick and dripping as more followed. "Oops. I spoke too soon," Slade sighed with a smirk once he was done. He swept his hand over the mess before holding his arm under the water and letting the cum run down his fingers.

"Just as well," Robin said through gritted teeth, trying not to sound too bothered as he made his way to the bathroom door. "We really should be leaving for Gotham."

The man raised an eyebrow with his smirk as he shut off the water, noting the slightly bowlegged quality of the teen's walk. Oh, yes. Slade _liked_ winning.

* * *

Robin rubbed his eyes somewhat disbelievingly. His mask was gone, but the intensity of the blue orbs was drowned slightly under the shadow of his baseball-hat. His hair was pulled back tightly into a pony tail, which didn't look too out of place with his civilian clothing. It did, however, look somewhat out of place with the enormous aircraft in front of them.

"_Gugalanna _SV? _A G-SV?_" The hero gasped at the fighter jet with awe. "How did…"

"Like her?" Slade asked, slinging a black cloth bag over his shoulder as they stepped out of the car and into the hanger. Apparently, when he said they would be flying together, he actually meant they would be _flying_.

"You… did you steal… how di… You _have_ to let me fly it!" Robin felt a bit childish, making such a spoiled demand like that, but he knew that he wasn't going to have an opportunity to fly a jet like that ever again. He was prepared to throw a tantrum like Slade had never seen, if necessary.

"She's on loan from an old acquaintance of mine, one of the original designers, actually." Slade smiled up at the jet.

It was one of only a handful in existence, as many of the others were gutted and recycled into newer models. It was supposed to be the jet of the future, fastest of its kind. It was fast, alright, even faster than the T-jet; but unfortunately, it was also heinously expensive to build and even more atrocious to operate. The resources needed to create and operate a fleet were simply unattainable, especially considering that there were still moderately fast jets that were far less expensive.

"I had planned to let you fly it, of course." Slade gave the teen a sideways leer before commenting lightheartedly, "Of course, I also planned to finish fucking you this morning."

Robin looked at Slade, then to the jet, then back at Slade, his eyes somewhere between a frantic gaze and pleading. "Fuck me now?" He offered somewhat weakly, giving a sheepish sort of grin that couldn't hide his excitement over the prospect of flying a _fucking Gugalanna SV_.

"No, I don't think so," Slade patted the younger man's head unsympathetically and moved toward the jet. "We'll be making several stops for fuel, though," the man commented. "Maybe you can manage to _impress_ me then."

The hero stood for a small moment, looking quite helpless and lost. Slade was only joking… right? _Right? _He wasn't going to let the opportunity pass the teen by! _RIGHT?_ He looked up at the aircraft in awe. He didn't care if he had to agree to go skipping through Gotham in nothing but his cape, he would get Slade to let him fly that thing!

"As soon as you're done cumming your pants, we'll get a move on," Slade offered airily, climbing up the side of the aircraft and turning to give the teen a smirk.

The hero flushed slightly through his glare and quickly followed after the man.

Oh, yes. Slade _really_ liked winning.

* * *

Robin held his breath as Slade fiddled with the controls. They were flying, as the villain so suggestively put it, _wet_, which apparently meant incredibly fucking fast. Robin was sure he'd heard the term before, and that it simply meant that they were flying with the use of afterburners, but it seemed so very different when coming from the man's mouth.

The hero shifted in his seat, trying to decide if he could reach around to the pilot's seat enough to give the man a hand job. A quick glance told him that, no, he couldn't… although he really already knew that because he had tried it earlier and failed, much to the damn bastard's amusement. It was probably a really dumb idea to begin with, joining the mile-high club while flying seemed like a very embarrassing way to crash; but Robin was getting a bit desperate. He hadn't even managed to jump Slade during one of their fuel stops. They had made all their stops primarily at military bases, and there always seemed to be someone around- except for some god-forsaken base in the middle of a desert where Slade had gotten out himself to refuel. Robin had actually considered hopping in the front seat and demanding that he get the chance to fly, but he didn't want to push things.

To his credit, Slade was purposely making things difficult. He couldn't help but find amusement in Robin's frustration. It was subtle at times, but every now and then the teen would try something. A phrase, a glance, a fast touch that disappeared too quickly… it was very amusing indeed. The teen was searching for a balance between submission and persistence. He wanted to fly, very badly, but he wouldn't quite allow himself to bow down to reach that goal. Even more amusing was the fact that the younger man was horny. Slade chuckled lightly at the thought as he glanced at the falling altimeter. Poor little hero, they would be landing soon for the last refueling, and it would be the last chance for the teen to try anything.

"You know," Slade said nonchalantly, although he had to speak rather loudly to compensate for the roar of the wind outside the aircraft. "This would be so much easier if you would just beg."

Robin rolled his eyes and turned to stare out the window. "It would be even easier if you would just let me fly."

"Too easy," The villain chuckled. "You'll appreciate it more if you have to work for it."

"_Begging_ isn't _work_," the hero scoffed.

"For you it is," Slade teased, turning off the afterburners as the landing strip rapidly came into view.

It took a moment for Robin to adjust to the new speed of the aircraft, leaving him for a moment in a dizzy and exciting sort of fog, but soon they were traveling at a tidy 400 knots, a speed still faster than most any other jet would land with. Slade busied himself over the radio, communicating with the airport below. Robin listened in and studied structures. Were they landing in a civilian airport? It almost seemed like it a little town, Robin could see streets and shops coming into view.

"Where are we?" He felt himself asking as he peered down.

"An airbase about five-hundred miles from Gotham," Slade said between the crackle of the radio. "We'll stop here and get some lunch before moving on."

Robin glanced at his watch and nodded. They would still be in Gotham at about the time he told Bruce he would be arriving. The man had graciously offered to send a limo for him, but the teen opted instead for a rental. He was technically too young to rent a car in the states, but no one in Gotham had the nerve to say no to Bruce Wayne or his rich little ward. The teen couldn't help but snigger at the thought of the rental service praying that he would crash; after all, it would mean a big payoff for them.

* * *

Robin adjusted his baseball cap as they walked through the grand hallways. He'd seen more than a few military bases, but none were quite so… civilian. It seemed much less like a base and far more like a little town. Currently, they were in the middle of what looked like a mall. There were shops, restaurants, and people in casual attire that were walking around, mingling and smiling with those in fatigues. It was only the strong presence of the uniforms and the many service symbols scattered about that gave away the fact that they were not in any other mall in the states.

"Pretty impressive, hmm?" Slade gave him a sideways smile as they walked. "Duty free shopping. Want to blow some of Daddy's cash?"

"Well, that depends. Which _daddy_ are you talking about?" The teen teased back. Slade had graciously provided a couple forged passports and ID cards, claiming that he was an active air-force member, and Robin, who was now apparently Stephen, was his son. "Because you know that I've always wanted to buy a pony."

"You don't need one," Slade replied, watching as a group of girls passed by, giggling and staring both of them up and down. He continued just loudly enough for the girls to hear, "You can ride me, if you like."

Robin felt himself flush a dark red, which apparently matched the girls' cheeks quite nicely, judging by the quiet laugh but less than subtle smirk the man had when he glanced back at the giggling mob. It wasn't until he heard the more hysterical giggling from the girls that he felt completely mortified and… somehow…

_Hot._

He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the rush of blood that flooded his heart and brain. The thought of being caught had always been such a terrifying fear, and yet… the idea of being seen… watched…

He shook his head from side to side, trying to clear all the little thoughts that were whizzing around his skull like fireflies.

Slade, it seemed, was on the same wavelength, he cleared his throat and looked straight forward as they walked. It was one thing to tease and to play, but quite another to actually put themselves in a position where they would be found out. The man may have pushed the boundaries just a bit too far with that joke. He glanced at the teen and smirked. Yes, perhaps a bit too far, but definitely worth it.

* * *

Robin shifted just a bit nervously in his seat. He couldn't help entertaining the thought of explaining to his younger self _why_ he was having lunch with his _arch nemesis, mask-less_, in the middle of a _crowded_ and rather _public_ location. He wouldn't have believed it as a young man. He was actually having a hard time processing it all at that very moment as well.

"Not quite the same as dining in the nude, hmm?" The man teased, thankfully very quietly this time, although Robin still blushed and glanced around the restaurant to see if anyone had heard it. Slade gave a warm chuckle. "Does it make you nervous? Poor little hero, being teased so mercilessly. First with the G-SV jet, now this."

"No," Dick said as he fiddled with the cloth napkin. "First was that damn little egg-thing, _then_ it was the jet, and for the record, I can tease just as well as you. Oh, but speaking of that jet… I've decided that you're going to let me fly."

"Oh?" the man gave a half smile, something akin to his usual smirk, but the sarcasm had been replaced by amusement.

"Yes," the hero nodded shortly. "You might as well agree to it while I'm feeling generous."

"While _you're_ feeling generous?" The man snorted, half-smile morphing quickly into the usual smirk.

"Yes," he nodded again, glancing around and then quickly disappearing under the table.

Slade blinked, smirk widening as his eye swept the restaurant, noting that the teen had picked the perfect time to disappear. Robin's sense of environment had certainly approved. Slade had hardly realized that the teen had been surveying the area; he assumed it had been the result of paranoia about walking around without his mask.

The tablecloth billowed around the man's legs and Slade felt a pair of steady hands moving up his thighs.

"Grayson…" Slade warned in a low growl. His body was apparently quite thankful for the attention, but his mind was cautious of the danger the attention brought with it.

"Don't make a scene," the teen replied with a smirk that was, for all practical purposes, very visible from under the table cloth. He moved quickly, unbuttoning the man's pants and pulling down the zipper. Slade would object, naturally and for good reason, it was a high-stakes game they were playing and Robin knew it. His body knew it, too. He could feel the blood rushing through his veins while his heart pounded inside his chest. It felt somewhat like their first few encounters. There was that air of uncertainty and doubt; that rush of adrenaline that Robin felt when he wasn't sure what was coming next.

Slade cleared his throat when he felt a pair of hot lips work their way from the base of his cock to the weeping tip. He had meant only to disguise his moan, but unfortunately, he caught the attention of a passing waiter.

"Yes, sir? Can I help you?" The man in a pristine white apron asked, looking at the empty spot and back to Slade as if to ask where his travel companion had gone off to.

Slade smirked, feeling Robin pause under the table. "Certainly. I'll go ahead and order now."

* * *

Dick smirked at the man's attempt to tease him, knowing full well that it would be a useless game because he held the ultimate trump-card in his hands- _and mouth_. He pulled back, blowing a cool stream of air over the erection before licking it up and down once again. Slade's legs tensed ever so slightly, perhaps a sign that he was having trouble concentrating. A black eyebrow raised in place of his victorious smirk as the teen moved his mouth further over the shaft, swallowing around it and feeling it twitch inside his throat.

* * *

The villain felt a hot tongue rolling up the side of his shaft and pushing aggressively into the slit as the hero's lips closed around the tip and he began sucking.

Slade, calm as ever, looked the server dead in the eye before politely glancing down at the menu. Having not actually read it yet, he needed at least a minimal amount of knowledge about the restaurant's cuisine before he could bullshit his way through ordering a four course meal.

He pretended, for a time as if he was struggling with foreign vocabulary on the menu and especially the procession of the courses. It was not at all unusual to serve guests unfamiliar with upper-scale dining, and perhaps he could feign ignorance until he actually had a chance to read things over. It was his own fault for not waving the waiter away, but he _assumed_ he would be able to multitask.

"If I may make a suggestion," the server began, placing one hand delicately over the other in a proper stance that had been drilled into him since culinary school. "Our most popular appetizer of the autumn season is the tomato tarte tatin, served with mixed greens, sliced pears, and a lightly accented with rich bleu cheese. We start by lightly caramelizing raw cane sugar in a cast-iron skillet…"

Slade looked away from the menu and concentrated on his server instead. Well, it wasn't particularly fair to say that he concentrated on his server… He really wasn't concentrating on that at all, despite that his eye was locked on the man, who he occasionally threw a nod or a hum at, as if considering every word with keen interest. In reality, he only caught about every other word of the man's babbling. Perhaps Robin was going to win this round after all…

* * *

Robin bobbed his head slowly, letting the engorged cock slide in and out of this throat, pausing now and again to pull back and tease the head with quick, fleeting licks while his hands rubbed against Slade's trousers, fondling his sac through the fabric.

* * *

"Sautéed with garlic in freshly churned butter and from a local farm…" The waiter continued. He'd moved on from the appetizers, but perhaps he needed to explain things with a bit more clarity, as the man's expression would shift every so often as if he was having trouble following and trying to concentrate on the process of the meal descriptions.

* * *

Dick took a moment to wiggle his tongue vigorously against the man's frenum, absolutely thrilled at the way his legs couldn't seem to decide if they wanted to spread wider or snap close. The teen started to chuckle at the sight, but found a quick remedy for that by once again swallowing the man's cock in one swift movement. Slade was in hell, and the hero _knew_ it. Judging by the way his balls tightened, it wouldn't be long before he came. Robin's lips curved in a smirk.

* * *

"…Hot steamed muscles and mirepoix in a vermouth wine sauce…" The server paused, noticing the obvious way the man slouched over in frustration. It wasn't the first time the seasoned waiter had to intervene on a hopeless case. "Of course, we gladly offer the _Délices__d'Automne_, where the entire four-course meal is prepared from local fare of the autumn season. If you aren't too particular about choice, this would be the best option."

Slade let out a rather relieved sigh. Apparently, that was just the scapegoat he'd been waiting for. The waiter had never seen such a sudden release from tension in all his days as a server. "I must say, I'm _impressed_," The man gave a devilish grin. "However, I think we'll start with the Basil Palmiers and Pork Rillettes, two Alastian Tart Flambé, followed by two Charcuterie Royal, the Chicken Paillard, Salmon Fillet , and we'll both finish with the Poire Belle-Hélène."

* * *

Robin swallowed and lapped away at the last drips of cum that drizzled from the man's tip. _Impressive_ his ass! He was a _god_ at fellatio, and he knew it. He smirked once again as he carefully tucked the man inside his trousers.

* * *

The waiter paused for just a small moment before smiling and giving a fast nod. Slade had seen that look before, it was calm and calculating with just a hint of excitement. The man was sizing him up. It the world of fine dining, a guest who feigned stupidity to test the waiter's knowledge was usually a critic, which is exactly what the server seemed to think.

"Absolutely, sir. And what wine would you like with that?"

"No wine, thank you," Slade replied with a smile before closing his menu and politely handing it over. No critic turned down wine, _especially_ with French food.

The waiter appeared to be thinking the exact same thing. His eyes flitted over the man in a fraction of a second, sizing him up once again. A very different look flashed through his eyes, one that Slade instantly recognized as lust, but it was very quickly replaced by an air of confusion.

"Very good, please let me know if you have any requests," the waiter nodded and smiled insecurely before walking away. His perfect demeanor was shattered in that instant and the villain couldn't help but chuckle, just as Robin quickly appeared on the other side of the table, looking mischievous.

"That was a bit risky, don't you think?" Slade scolded in a low voice as took a quick drink from his water glass.

Dick chuckled and leaned on his hand. "It's so hard to take you seriously when you have that dazed look in your eye. Go ahead and admit your defeat. It would probably be good for both our egos."

"I didn't realize the fragile little ward needed an ego boost."

"Nice try, but nothing you say can dampen my sprit after _that_," Robin paused for a fraction of a second, his mind suddenly recalling thousands of things the man could say that would not only dampen the mood, but ruin the meal altogether. He changed the subject quickly. "So, yes. It is quite a change from our usual dining circumstances. I have to say, I enjoyed it."

The tiny scowl on the villain's face was suddenly replaced by something more predatory. "You're hard, aren't you?"

Robin was about to reply when the waiter wandered back to the table with a set of small, warm plates that he placed before them.

It seemed that the waiter had decided to keep his attention diverted from the villain, or at least not to look him in the eye, if at all possible. Every time he had to, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks and he instantly set his eyes on the floor. Robin watched as he leaned down to set the plates on the table, avoiding the paler grey eye like the plague and turning to nod at him. the teen smiled and opened his mouth to say '_thank you_' when a mad blush crawled over his sun kissed cheeks. Unfortunately, the poor waiter couldn't seem to handle that either, as he quickly diverted his attention to the floor with a mad blush on his cheeks.

Robin bit back a moan as he felt something move up the inseam of his trousers and push rather resolutely against his groin. A quick glance at Slade told him exactly what was happening. The man had slipped his foot out of his shoe and was currently kneading it against the teen's crotch, stroking the confined erection teasingly.

Thankfully, the waiter scurried off before anything too phenomenal happened in the hero's pants. Slade decided he'd had enough fun and quickly withdrew.

"Stopping so soon?" Dick egged the man on quietly, his eyes glowing with a controlled lust.

"Indeed," Slade uttered under a rich chuckle as he watched Robin's blush darken, rather than dissipate, "And for good reason."

"Oh?" Robin hummed.

"Yes. Bruce Wayne just walked in."

Dick froze, quiet as a mouse and deadly still.

"He hasn't seen us. Oh, damn, he… he's coming over."

The teen studied the man's face carefully but quickly. "You asshole," he said once he decided the man was lying. Sure enough, the look of calm calculation melted away into a playful smile.

"Actually, I was doing you a favor. I didn't want to leave you hard up… you know, like you tried to do to me this morning. Consider it a gift."

Robin could only chuckle at the benevolent sort of smile the man gave him, just as a blushing waiter returned to their table with two plates of appetizers.

* * *

"I think that waiter was hitting on us." Robin said thoughtfully as they cruised along, thousands of feet above the ground.

"Just put that together, did you?" Slade chuckled from the seat behind the teen, taking in the sight of the endless sky. There was a beautiful orange glow from the sunset at their tail, and before them was a vast darkness where tiny little dots of starlight were beginning to show through.

"No, I was just thinking about it," Robin said airily, checking the altimeter and wondering if he could sneak in a few loop-de-loops before they had to land in Gotham.

"Considering your options?" Slade mused, watching the teen's body tighten.

"What? No. I wouldn't-"

"You _could_," the villain interrupted. "Don't forget that you have other options… lacking though they may be. I doubt they could please you like I-"

"Oh my gawd!" the teen began in a melodramatic tone, "If you're, like, trying to break up with me or something, you should at least, wait until I'm not in a position to send us hurtling to the ground in a screaming metal death-trap."

"Duly noted, but that's not what I was getting at," Slade laughed. "I just want you to be aware that-"

"That there are other cocks out there?" Robin scoffed, "I figured that, thanks, just never really wanted to test the theory. You're good enough for now."

"For now?" The man smirked, kicking the teen's seat just a bit.

"Yeah. Until I'm done with you, anyway," the teen smirked as well. "That's what you get for fucking a virgin—we're possessive and fussy."The hero had a little laugh before gripping the steering mechanism and deciding that, after _that_ conversation, he could get away with at least one loop-de-loop.

Slade gave a soft smile at the teen's excited whoop as the sky and the ground seemed to switch places. It certainly wasn't his intention to _break up_, as the teen had so eloquently put it. He only meant to remind the hero that there _were_ other options out there. Better ones, probably… Not when it came to sex, of course, but others could provide the teen with things the villain couldn't, like friendship. Robin was getting attached, something Slade wanted to avoid. Their current relationship was not meant to last and it certainly wasn't meant to develop into anything truly meaningful. Slade knew it and the little hero was _supposed_ to know it, but maybe he'd lost sight of what their relationship _really_ was. That could spell trouble when things changed. And things _certainly_ were changing. Robin was going to need someone who could provide things that Slade simply couldn't. Maybe the teen had forgotten that comfort came from more than sex and that lovers did not equate to love. Slade frowned at that thought, just as Robin decided he could get away with _one_ more loop-de-loop.

* * *

Robin sighed as the sound of the roaring engine faded with a strange whirling.

"Satisfied?" Slade asked and roughly patted the hero's shoulder. The teen stretched and let out a moan of contentment.

"You bet, I haven't felt this satisfied since-"

"Since this morning?" Slade graciously finished.

"Sure, we'll go with that," Robin sniggered as he released the airlock and the small cockpit filled with the chilly Gotham air. The teen took a moment to breathe deeply, taking in a scent he thought he'd left in his past. It was a cold city smell, a bit like river water and wet paint masked heavily by the smell of coffee and car exhaust. It smelled so different from Jump… It _felt_ different, too.

"Scrambler on?" Slade asked, snapping the teen out of his reverie.

"No, too risky. Security would have to shut things down. We'll have to hack it later."

"No need. I've got a few connections in the TSA. We weren't even here."

"How did you manage… never mind, I don't want to know." Dick muttered as they began to climb out of the aircraft.

"Good choice," Slade said nonchalantly, pulling his knapsack from a small compartment and tossing them to the hanger floor where it echoed. He was about to do the same to Robin's backpack before the teen made a sound and reached his hands out to grab the thick canvas fabric. "Packed your delicates, did you?" The villain chuckled.

"Something like that, yeah," Robin said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. His cargo wasn't exactly delicate, but it _was _important.

Slade jumped to the ground next to the teen and gestured to the door. "Lead the way, Mr. Grayson. This is your city, after all."

"Not really," Robin replied. "It's _his_."

* * *

They parted ways soon after entering the busy terminal, leaving Robin to his own thoughts and memories of the city. He hadn't even left the airport yet, and somehow he could tell the whole city had changed and yet stayed exactly the same. Nothing looked familiar, but everything felt like a memory.

He stopped for a moment to study a piece of modern art that stood about three stories high and frowned. Modern art was something that _always_ felt the same, mostly because no one ever knew what to do with it.

"Hello…" came a sultry voice behind him. Dick turned to find an overly decorated woman looking him over. She looked like a classic floozy that belonged on the arm of an outrageously dressed villain, maybe Two-Face or even the Penguin. "You're a pretty lad aren't you?" she asked in a London accent that Dick couldn't quite decide to believe or not. "Want to give it go? Just twenty-five quid a round."

Dick sighed and shook his head. Yes, there were some aspects of Gotham that would _always_ be the same.

* * *

Fans of Iron Maiden might notice a wink and a nod to the song "22 Acacia Avenue" with the London prostitute at the end of the chapter. It's there because of a rather unique request from the reader Yuugi Arry.

I would like to end this with a special thank you to **Kayz0rbeam**, who inspired/bribed me to keep writing, to **LindenMae**, who beta'd this like a cheetah, to **Wynja**, who kept me from experiencing Sladin withdrawals when I was too busy to write my own stories, and to all my readers and reviewers, who I have been (obviously) neglecting during this semester.


	23. Chapter 23

Hello again! I would like to begin this chapter by thanking Kayz0rbeam (who not only survived a week with me, but also heavily inspired the content of this chapter) and LindenMae, my ever-awesome Beta!

A brief warning: This chapter does contain some fairly heavy BDSM, and anyone who is bothered by erotic asphyxiation (choking) should not read the smut... Which is what most of you are here for, so I don't think many will find that warning useful XD! Oh... And my responsible-minded self would like to throw in a warning about safe-sex practices, especially in situations involving risk of injury/death, etc., blah blah blah.

**Chapter 23**

* * *

"Al!" Dick dropped his bag on the floor and threw his arms around the older gentleman, who returned the gesture with a light chuckle.

"So good to see you Master Grayson," he began. "My, how you've grown! Or perhaps I've just shrunken like a wool sweater. Getting old does that to you, you know."

"Speaking of getting older…" the teen said coyly as he reached into his bag and pulled out an old leather-bound book wrapped tightly in a simple and tasteful paper wrapping. "I know it's early, but Happy Birthday, old man!"

"Oh, you shouldn't have." Alfred held the present gingerly in his hands. The shape and weight let him know it exactly what the present was, and a good guess could tell him that it was a rare first-edition of some sort or another.

"You can open it now, if you like," Dick said, zipping up his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. "It's not like Bruce will find out."

"Find out what?" The billionaire asked as he made his way from atop the large spiral staircase.

"Oh, wow," Dick exclaimed, actually surprised as his eyes followed the man's movements, "What are you doing home?"

"Barbra's doing patrol work. Unless something big happens, I'm taking the night off."

"Special occasion?" Dick asked, extending his hand out to greet his guardian. "Alfred's Birthday isn't until tomorrow."

"You're home, that's occasion enough." Bruce paused at the extended hand before brushing it aside and moving his arms around his ward in a warm hug that the younger man returned, after a baffled pause. "I thought it would be a good idea to spend a little time together." The man replied, pulling away from the teen but keeping his hands on either side of the teen's arms and gazing down at him with a distinct look of pride that the teen admittedly enjoyed to see. "How was your flight?"

"A little turbulent, not bad," Dick replied nonchalantly, "I'm going to drop my stuff off in my room… I'm guessing it's still there?"

"Down to the cartoon bed sheets," Alfred replied with a chuckle. "Forgive me. I must have been feeling a bit whimsical and nostalgic."

"Just don't expect me to slip back into that speedo-thing." Dick began walking up the stairs before muttering, "I'm not sure why I thought that was a good wardrobe choice."

"I believe you said it allowed for greater flexibility and aerodynamics," Alfred teased once again.

"Aren't you supposed to go deaf when you get old?" He called down the stairs, hearing the butler chuckle and giving a small one of his own. It was good to be home.

* * *

The teen set his bag on his bed, briefly lifting back the covers to discover that, indeed, Alfred had meant it when he said he was feeling nostalgic.

He sighed and briefly rubbed his eyes. He was a bit touched at Bruce's decision to skip work, but a bit more concerned with checking on the Xenothium belt—preferably without Batman and the whole League finding out about it. Not to mention that he would feel like a complete ass if Alfred discovered that he hadn't really come home for his birthday. He hadn't meant to lie about it, really, it was just so damn convenient that his need to visit coincided with the Butler's special day. It started when he called Alfred to let him know he was coming home. The look on the man's face through his computer screen was so… _happy_. He couldn't explain that his real reason for coming had nothing to do with family or birthdays.

Dick wasn't entirely sure why he kept the lie going. Alfred understood the importance of hero work and would think nothing of Robin doing some investigating during his visit. He didn't need to know that the belt was the sole purpose of his visit… So why the secrecy? Dick bit his lip. Bruce. Or, more accurately, _Batman_. Robin trusted his mentor with his life, but Batman had a habit of stealing the thunder, so to speak. He would solve the case of the missing Slade bots, the explosions, and the Red-X suit all too quickly. Dick didn't want that. It was his case, his _mistakes_ that brought the crimes upon them. Letting Batman involve himself in it was _dangerous_… especially considering what he might find if he looked in the right places.

There was also the issue of a certain little data-disk that Slade had given him. Robin peeked inside his bag for the billionth time to make sure the little device was still there. It was, of course, but that didn't solve the problem of his mentor waiting downstairs. Robin wondered briefly about the ethics of wishing for some sort of disaster to happen so that he would have enough time, but he didn't much care for that line of thinking and decided that his time would be better spent downstairs, appeasing Bruce and his sudden need to be fatherly.

* * *

To the surprise of all three men, Alfred, Bruce, and Dick all managed to have a very cordial evening. They talked well into the night, sharing old stories and sipping Alfred's tea, which both men agreed was far more enjoyable than Raven's. It wasn't until a quarter past two that their little reunion was broken up by a yawning Butler. He bade them both goodnight and accepted their happy birthday wishes before shuffling out of the study.

Both Dick and Bruce listened to the padded sound of the man's slippers as he wandered away; leaving them in silence, save for the crackling fire. Bruce let out a long sigh before he finally said anything.

"I'm glad you came back, even if it is just for a visit."

"Me too," the teen returned the sentiment, glancing sideways to see that the man was looking not at him, but into the blazing fire. The silence returned, feeling somehow thicker than before and making both the teen and the man shift a bit in their seats.

"I don't suppose you would mind pancakes for breakfast? I'm afraid we don't have a waffle-iron."

"In this house? With that kitchen? You're kidding."

"Well, I suppose it's more accurate to say that we don't have a _functioning_ waffle-iron."

"Ah. Was Alfred mad you broke it?" Dick chided.

"Oh, furious," Bruce replied. "Apparently it was one that he bought while on holiday in Belgium. I promised he would get a new one for his birthday."

"So you're sending him to Belgium?" the teen smiled. "Good gift. Remind me to visit on my birthday."

"I would like that," Bruce said in gentle earnest that seemed to echo throughout the room.

Dick gave a tight smile, knowing full well that Batman could detect the uncertainty in his reaction, but realizing that there was nothing he could do to possibly hide it. Truthfully, the thought of returning to the mansion on a more regular basis was a comforting thought; but one that came with an ominous feeling. Rebuilding his relationship with Bruce meant he had something to lose if things went wrong again. Robin didn't know if he could take that. He glanced at the man and found that he was gazing still at the fire with a rare and content smile.

Maybe… it was worth the risk.

* * *

Dick's eyes snapped open just as the sun was peeking into his room. He stretched as he glanced at the clock on his wall before swinging his legs over the side of his bed. He could faintly detect the smell of pancakes drifting up from the kitchen. It was a trick that Alfred used to pull when he was younger because it was the only thing aside from crime fighting that could get him out of bed before nine. He gave a warm smile before putting on a pair of slippers and making his way to the heavenly smell, knowing full well that Alfred would never allow him barefoot in the kitchen.

"Good morning Master Dick," Alfred said from in front of the hot stove. "I apologize that I am not making waffles. Master Bruce told me you were particularly fond of them."

"He also told me that he broke the waffle iron." Dick gave a little chuckle and took a seat on one of the tall stools that was always placed next to the island counter. His eyes fell on a full plate of pancakes and his mouth began to water. "How that man thought he could cook is beyond me."

"Me as well. It was a curious little turn of events, really. I think he had a craving after he came back from Jump and didn't want to wake me. Unfortunately, the fire alarm did it for him. Poor man ran off to work without unplugging it."

"Oh? He neglected that little bit of information," Dick smirked as Alfred flipped the pancake with the precision of a master chef before catching it in the skillet with a light sound and sending waves of sweet warm smells floating past the vacationing hero. "Where is Bruce, anyway?"

"Work, again. Seems there was a problem at one of the Wayne Enterprises technical plants. He sends his apologies."

"How long ago?" Dick asked just as a small stack of pancakes landed on his plate. He felt his mouth watering at the sight, but his mind was wandering to thoughts of the Batcave.

"A few hours ago, he should be back at any moment."

Robin nodded and reluctantly swallowed the thought of wandering down to the Batcave before he returned. He certainly did not want to be caught in a high security area with no other excuse than curiosity. Batman would see through that in a heartbeat and then the real purpose behind his visit would be revealed. Then Bruce and Alfred would find out about the Red-X suit, Robin would be outed, he'd lose control of his investigation, and his new relationship with Bruce would be-

"Speak of the devil," the teen said as he heard a door closing softly from down the hall. Alfred turned an ear to the hall and listened for a few moments before nodding in agreement, something that Dick found a bit odd considering the man's impeccable hearing.

Bruce walked into the room and jumped slightly at the sight of the two gentlemen in his kitchen. "Oh, I didn't think you two would be up yet."

"I was tricked," Dick said as he motioned to the plate in front of him and began cutting his pancakes.

"I do hope you didn't intend to cook breakfast yourself, Master Bruce. I believe I made myself clear after the waffle-iron incident." Alfred gave the billionaire the stink-eye as he poured more batter into the pan.

"No, no. I've learned my lesson." Bruce shivered and pulled a stool next to Robin. "Although I'm not particularly comfortable with you cooking on your birthday, I had planned to take you two out for breakfast."

"Oh, posh. It's no trouble," The butler gave a gentle smile, letting the room settle into a peaceful silence that was disturbed only by the sounds of cooking and eating. "And it certainly helped young master Dick out of bed. Your breakfast, Master Bruce," Alfred gently set a warm plate before the billionaire.

"Thank you, Alfred. I'm still not sure I'm alright with you working on your birthday."

"This from a man who hardly remembers his own," Alfred tsked. "And besides, I have a vacation coming up soon, if I recall correctly."

"Just name the date, the jet is yours," Bruce said wistfully before taking a bite of his pancakes. "Oh, by the way," Bruce said as he turned to his ward, "we need to get you a new tuxedo."

"A tux?" Dick mumbled through a bite of pancakes, swallowing before finishing because Alfred gave him a quick warning glance. "I didn't realize the party was going to be so formal. How big is the guest list?"

"Only about three-hundred fifty," Bruce shrugged. "Alfred has always managed to make friends while running errands at Wayne Enterprises. A few league members may come as well, depending on the crime forecast. I sent the tailor your measurements; they just need to make any final adjustments."

"Clark is out for sure then, I'm guessing," Robin said thoughtfully. "Lex just posted the twenty-million bail, right?"

"Right," Bruce nodded, looking a bit perturbed before he muttered, "should have set the bail higher."

Robin nodded and gave a small sigh of relief, thankful for the fact that Clark wouldn't be among the guests, especially because it was looking more and more likely that he would have to visit the Batcave _during_ the event. The last thing he needed was a guest with X-ray vision.

* * *

Dick was busily putting his hair into a long braid as he descended the stairs from his room. Alfred was busy directing party planners and decorators and Bruce had just left for a press conference concerning whatever difficulties had occurred at the Wayne technical plant. Apparently it was a bit of a mess, but Bruce really didn't seem to want to discuss it over breakfast.

Robin slipped into Bruce's study and shut the door quietly. He took in the smell of leather as he looked around, trying not to think of the many memories he'd made in the room as he walked to an antique clock and opened the glass face. With a few twists of the hands, a secret panel opened and a gust of cold air fluttered around Dick's body. He stepped into a darkened tunnel and held his breath as he walked down a narrow staircase, taking in the smell and the chill that he didn't realize he'd missed. From then on, it was a careful series of steps and movements. He knew he was being watched by mechanical eyes and that a wrong move could sound the alarm and leave him trapped until someone came back to rescue him. Wouldn't _that_ be embarrassing…

His eyebrows lifted and drew together as the tunnel turned sharply and opened up to a vast cavern filled with stone and machinery. Very little had changed, Dick decided. There had been significant updates to the technology, but that was to be expected after all the years he'd been gone. It was the layout that made the teen nostalgic, everything was in perfect place and order, just as the first day he'd stumbled down the stone stairs and found Bruce under the cowl of the Dark Knight.

The memories came flooding back at that point and there was nothing he could do but drown in them. Everything brought back visions of their past. Dick felt his eyes warming as he placed a hand on the table he used to sit on while Batman worked. There were times when he would sit for hours, watching his mentor type furiously at the computer. He would often fall asleep there and either Bruce or Alfred would carry him to his room.

The hero blinked away a few tears that were threatening to brim over at the corners of his eyes and turned his attention back to the goal of his visit. He hurried through the cave, brushing against countless memories that tried to slow him down, and finally came to the storeroom. It was easy enough after that. He entered the ten-digit security code, a random sequence of numbers, letters, and symbols that was surprisingly unchanged since his childhood, before he was able to push the heavy door open.

The air in the storeroom was equally cold, but far staler than the rest of the cave. It was like a strange mix of stagnant, dusty air with hints of sulfur and compounds from the countless weapons that had been confiscated. It took Dick a moment to orient himself with the surroundings, as the collection had grown significantly, but soon he was able to locate the locked box with a simple white label that read: _Xenothium Belt_.

He held his breath as he pulled the box from the shelf and twisted the combination dials until he heard a series of clicks. He gave a relieved exhale at the sight of a clear cylindrical container that held his invention. He studied the container carefully before pulling it from the box and running his fingers along the seams of the glass-like material that kept his invention secure.

"Didn't know that he sealed it up," he mumbled quietly, turning the container in his hands and finally looking inside at the belt itself. It looked exactly as he remembered when he last held it in his hands, down to a few vertical scratches along the left side that he himself had managed to leave during a fight with Red X. If it _was_ a fake, it was a _thoroughly_ convincing one.

Robin sighed. There was no way to study the belt itself without opening the container, and there was no way to open the container without destroying it; however, the fact that he never received an alarm from the belt suggested that it was genuine. He bit his lip as he considered breaking the seals so that he could run a diagnostic scan on the materials. The evidence that the mask had been completely devoid of xenothium particles was bothersome to the teen because it suggested that it had been replaced, despite that the alarm had not gone off. Without being able to open the container and scan for traces of the element, he couldn't be sure if the belt was the real thing.

The frown deepened over his lips before he pushed the clear container back into the case and closed the lid. Maybe it would be worth it to work with Slade… He placed the box back on the shelf and weighed the options. Pairing up with Slade ultimately meant trouble, especially because he intended to protect whoever was behind the whole mess. But it could also give him the information he needed to save them. It would also provide him with a chance to avoid getting his hand caught in the cookie jar, which was a serious perk, because he didn't want to jeopardize his relationship with Bruce, and being forced to work along Batman as a sidekick wouldn't do much to help them.

Robin reached the door to the vault and gave the locked box one last, long look. He was at a crossroads. Asking Bruce for help meant that he might discover the true nature of his visit and ruin the possible progress they had made. Letting Bruce into a mission was like handing him the keys when he wanted to drive. There used to be a time that their work styles were compatible, but that changed all too quickly with time and age. Dick had grown out of his sidekick role and beyond Bruce's control, which created a tumultuous working relationship that spilled into their private lives. It ruined them.

The choice to work with Bruce or Slade… It should have been easy to decide, but still Dick found himself struggling. It would have been easier before, but everything had changed when he made the decision to sleep with a villain.

Robin stopped dead in his tracks. _Everything_ had changed? No. _He_ had changed. He'd let his own addictions interfere with his mission. He'd known the right answer all along but simply refused to see it because it meant owning up to his failures. He let himself become too human, too distracted by guilt and fear to see the right answer. He bit his lip as he walked through the Batcave and back up the long staircase.

He would ask for Bruce's help. Dick didn't like to do it, but he knew it was the right move, the one Robinwas supposed to make. A hero was supposed to put his own life on the line, both figuratively and literally. A hero would put the mission before himself.

Dick nodded solemnly as he twisted the hands of the clock to reset the secret door.

The human in him told him to wait. Why not enjoy one last night of peace before he took the gamble of working with Batman? It seemed that everyone had been enjoying the lack of drama, and Dick especially didn't want to spoil Alfred's birthday.

He emerged into the empty hallway of the mansion and gave a smile at the faint sound of Alfred's voice as he directed the events down below. He could detect tiny hints of gentleness in the man's voice as he spoke, which was a very subtle mark that he was happy. That would have to do for now.

* * *

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. Dick was assaulted for hours by all manner of tailors, stylists, and hairdressers. The hairdressers were at least humorous to watch. There were three of them and they had a forty minute argument about what to do with his hair which almost turned violent. It wasn't until one of them made the suggestion to trim the ends and put in warm amber highlights that the conversation finally died down to something respectably civil and utterly boring.

The teen returned only slightly traumatized by his visit to the tailor, who used to work on his wardrobe as a boy and apparently felt it necessary to comment about how he had _grown_. He was suddenly very grateful that he didn't have to go through all the trouble on a regular basis like Bruce did; perhaps his life away from being Bruce Wayne's ward had spoiled him too much. He parked the borrowed motorcycle in the garage and made his way inside, passing through the kitchen that was currently full of white-coated chefs and into a ballroom that was brightly lit and dripping with decorations and party favors.

Alfred was among the workers, currently examining the centerpiece on one of the tables but looking rather pleased about it. Dick had a small chuckle at the sight, knowing full well that no event in the world, his own birthday included, could keep Alfred Pennyworth from maintaining a strict order of perfection in planning and execution. This had probably been part of Bruce's plan, because he knew Alfred actually _enjoyed_ the hustle and bustle involved with grand events. Bruce used to insist on hiring party planners and sending Alfred off to some spa for pampering, but this only led to disaster when the planners chose the wrong flowers or, heaven forbid, put milk in the tea when they should have used lemon.

"Ah, Master Dick," Alfred called to him as he glanced up from the centerpiece. "Barbara called, she was hoping to catch you while you were in town, but I told her you were on the way back."

"Should I give her a call," the teen asked, draping the garment bag with his new suit over the back of a chair, "or just see her at the party?"

"I think perhaps you should call her. She might not be able to attend because of her studies." Alfred replied, pulling out a slightly drooping columbine flower and handing it to a member of the party staff who just happened to be passing by. "She seemed rather crestfallen, poor dear."

"I'll give her a call," Dick said, watching the worker with the drooping flower wander around looking a bit lost until a flouriest, who had apparently been watching Alfred with some amount of apprehension, flagged him down and gave him a new flower to deliver to the butler.

"See that you do, sir. And please be ready for party guests to begin arriving in two hours, the boutonnières are being kept in the wine cellar for freshness when you are ready for yours. Would you mind checking on Master Bruce to ensure that he hasn't fallen asleep on his work? He's gone into his _study_ and hasn't come out for some time."

"Sure thing, Al," the teen gave a nod of understanding and lifted his garment bag from the chair. "Anything else?"

"No, no, I think that shall do nicely for now. You go on and- Oh dear! Why are they setting up for the ice sculpture there? It belongs on the far western side!"

Dick smiled as the Butler marched off to hassle a staff member who simply pointed to a sheet of paper and gestured to the spot he was setting up the sculpture as if he could convince the butler. The teen gave a little snort and walked on. It would take a very talented argument to persuade Alfred to deviate from his choices.

* * *

Dick stepped into the cold tunnel for the third time that day, feeling the same ominous pang of guilt that came with his first visit. He could hear the soft echo of Bruce's voice as he spoke with someone on the communication network, probably Clark.

"I'll keep you posted with any new information. With any hope, it's nothing but a grave coincidence." Batman's voice carried softly and the teen found that he was holding his breath and stepping very lightly. "I would appreciate if you passed on the news to league members; especially those who will be attending. Dick is on his way down."

"Give Alfred my well wishes, I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help."

"Me too," Bruce nodded at the man. "Batman: out."

The hero gave a puzzled little expression before stepping out of the tunnel and into the dim light of the Batcave.

"What's up?" He asked, pretending that what he had just done was not eavesdropping, but a very efficient form of listening.

"A little problem at Wayne Tech. Someone tried to get in last night."

"Who?" Dick felt his chest tightening.

"We're not sure yet…" his mentor shook his head and stood to join his former sidekick. "Nor is it clear what they were after."

Robin swallowed hard and looked at the glowing screen. "We moved a lot over here from Jump… do you think it's Slade?"

"It doesn't fit his style."

"Why? What happened?"

"I'll have to fill you in after Alfred's party. I'm guessing that he's starting to get antsy up there."

"Just a bit," Dick nodded. "He's running out of things to nit-pick."

"I switched out the instructions for the ice sculpture," Bruce gave a little smirk as he stood and began walking with Dick back to the tunnel entrance. "Figured that would keep him entertained for a bit."

"Shouldn't take him too long to put things in order," Robin smirked. "He's got all the planners nervous."

* * *

The few hours before the party went into full swing were rather long and tedious. He'd made a call to Barbra, who explained that a group member for a college project had disappeared without warning so she had to fix everything before the deadline. After that, he went back to visit Alfred, who was finally content with the decorations and had moved back into the kitchen, ensuring that everything was at the appropriate temperature and properly displayed. When Bruce meandered by, Alfred shooed them both off to change into their tuxedoes, which they both did just in time to greet the first guests who Robin remembered as long-term Wayne Industry employees.

From then on out, it was almost all a blur. More guests arrived, some of them Robin knew and others not. Only a handful of the heroes were able to make it, but they all greeted the teen with open arms. He was paraded around a bit by Alfred and told some slightly embarrassing stories about the old gentleman by some of his visiting Englishman friends, who had arrived a bit late and were looking jetlagged and a bit tipsy. Dinner, naturally, was exquisite, and the after dinner dancing was far more enjoyable than he remembered it being as a younger teen. The sound of metal against a crystal champagne glass gathered everyone's attention. Bruce was standing by the kitchen doors, which were held open wide as an enormous cake was carefully being wheeled into the dining room.

"Sorry to break up the conversations, but I think it's time we gave congratulations to the man of the hour." He motioned to the cake, a seven tiered masterpiece with different flavors on each level and decorated with a very tasteful chocolate and navy blue frosting. The crowd broke into applause at the sight and cheered when the candles erupted into sparking flames. Alfred bashfully took his place beside the billionaire, who handed him a glass of champagne and took another from a waiter with a tray. "It's time to break open the bubbly," Bruce gave his playboy smile as he motioned to the serving staff who all carried trays and trays of champagne, passing the glasses out to each of the guests. Bruce turned to the old man and his smile became more genuine. "Alfred has been with me for as long as I can remember…"

Like all the guests, it seemed, Dick listened to his guardian recount tales of Alfred's hardships and successes, help and wisdom. Only those who knew Batman's real identity could pick up on the very subtle hints at just how necessary the man's help had been throughout the years.

"Champagne?" A gravelly voice entered Robin's ear and sent a shiver up his spine. He turned with disbelieving eyes to find a tall man with a head of salt and pepper hair that matched his full beard and complimented his deep brown eyes.

"You _didn't_," Robin hissed in a deadly low tone at the man who smirked back at him.

"I'm afraid I did," the man whispered back at the bird, who seemed to be imitating a fish. "Looks like you had a run-in with a stylist also. The highlights are nice but black suits you best."

"Speaking of suits, where did you get that?"Robin looked the man over and felt a small wave of suspicion.

"Your guardian's closet," Slade admitted without a hint of shame. "I didn't realize this was a formal affair."

Robin was about to ask how he managed to fit into Bruce's tux before he remembered that Bruce always had a few tuxes that were too large in case he needed to cover casts and bandages. Seeing that question resolved, the hero instead focused on a more startling question. "How the hell did you get in?"

"Walked, mostly." Slade smiled and twirled the champagne glass between his fingers. "Alfred's guests seemed a bit preoccupied when they left their rooms. Three of the terrace doors were left wide open. Not to mention that the hounds were all put away to keep wandering guests from being eaten and the cameras were easy enough to get around. All in all, it was an easy trip."

"So nice of you to stop by," Robin muttered. "Leave now."

"I would be happy to, but I'm afraid I have to talk to Mr. Wayne first. It seems we aren't the only ones who are visiting Gotham. Our _friends_ followed us."

"Good to know that wasn't you trying to break into Wayne Technologies last night."

"Oh, no. It was," the man smiled and looked sideways at the teen. "I was testing their security system. My regards to the man, he buffed things up since the last time I was there."

"You don't know when to quit, do you?"The hero muttered as he declined a champagne glass from a passing server.

"Where would we be if I did?" Slade feigned a sincere smile and lifted his glass, watching as Robin turned back to the speaker and smiled with the rest of the crowd just in time to wish the man a very loud happy birthday. "I was attacked this morning. Just want to warn you and Wayne that his assets will be next."

The cheers died down and the guests began to meander forward towards the cake, slowly bypassing the disguised hero and his equally disguised companion.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Robin glared, feeling a pair of eyes on him and turning to find Bruce moving towards them with a stern expression. The teen felt his eyes widen and his heart quicken. What _exactly_ did that expression _mean_?

Bruce gave the teen a warm smile and closed his hands on the teen's shoulders, "Alfred wanted to see you, if you don't mind."

"Sure," Dick said almost timidly, turning his back on the pair of men and quickly walking towards the butler who was busy accepting individual congratulations from each of the party guests.

"Mr. Wilson…"

The hero heard Bruce's voice over the din of the crowd and cringed. What on earth was Slade thinking?

* * *

Slade caught the teen casting a worried glance behind him and smirked.

"Mr. Wayne." He nodded. "Sorry to drop in unannounced, but you were out of your office this afternoon."

"Yes. I believe my secretary was to schedule a future appointment for you."

"She did, but I'm afraid you might need my assistance now."

"Your assistance?" Bruce cocked a brow and gave the man a less than appeasing look.

"Yes. As I understand it, you had a little problem at one of you technology plants recently."

"I'm curious to know how you came across this bit of information, Mr. Wilson, as no information has been released to the papers."

"I know because one of my own storage cells was raided not too long ago…" He gave the man a steely look with his eyes. "And I know _who_ did it and _why_ they went to you next..."

* * *

Robin gave the butler a big hug and cautiously glanced over at Bruce and Slade. They were only talking, but that in and of itself was a terrifying thought.

"Having a good birthday, Al?" he asked, giving the butler a pat on the back and seeing the man give a rather dangerous looking sway.

"Oh, quite so, quite so. I'm afraid I might have indulged a bit too much in the drink, however. I hope Master Bruce's playboy attitude isn't wearing off on me."

On perhaps any other occasion, a drunk butler would have been the highlight of Dick's evening. Alfred was never one to indulge, at least not publicly, and the reason behind that seemed to be that he had absolutely no tolerance for alcohol. Dick _wished_ he was in the state of mind to laugh about it, to point out the rarity of the event and actually be able to enjoy it, but it simply wasn't possible when his eyes kept darting between the butler and the two men talking in the distance.

"I think you'll be alright," the teen promised, casting yet another glance at the men. "You'll feel it in the morning and maybe we'll have the chance to actually spoil you for once."

"Don't let him try to cook breakfast. He'll kill us all." Alfred said rather solemnly but his smile was very evident on his face.

"I'll do my best," Robin promised. The hairs on the back of this neck stood on end as Bruce nodded to Slade and shook his hand. The villain looked somewhat pleased, but Bruce looked angry as he walked back.

"Everything alright?" Robin asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"Yes," Bruce replied nonchalantly, pulling the teen aside and speaking very quietly. "He's an old affiliate of the company, but was suspected of embezzlement. I'd like nothing more than to kick him out, but I don't want to cause a scene during Alfred's party. You understand, I'm sure."

"Of course," Dick nodded, feeling a knot in his throat. Had Slade lied to him about his brief little audition with Wayne Enterprises? What reason would he have to lie if…

Robin's body went numb. Slade didn't lie. Bruce did.

"All the same, stay away from him. He's digging about for information and could be a potential threat to the company."

_He knew who Slade was_…

"Yeah," Robin replied, giving a nod and turning his attention back to the butler. He was surprised at the evenness of his own voice and the calmness of his features. Inside, he was shaking from either rage or disbelief. Bruce and Alfred were chatting pleasantly, but the teen felt as if he was going to explode.

"I'm going to step outside," Robin finally said, "I need some fresh air." He moved quickly through the crowd, careful not to disturb anyone's cake plate, until he reached the veranda. His knuckles closed around the banister and he bit his tongue to keep from swearing.

Bruce _knew_. He _knew_ and he didn't say _anything_. _Not once_. A cold feeling of dread washed over his gut. Just how much did he know? Robin bit harder on his tongue and tried to concentrate, searching his brain for little clues. He pulled the memories from his mind, examining them piece by piece for any evidence that the man knew more than _just_ Slade's identity.

It was next to impossible that Bruce knew about them. He was always too involved in Dick's life to stay away when there was trouble, too quick to point out mistakes where he saw weakness… If he _did_ find out that they were _fucking each other_, Batman would have stepped in to _fix_ things.

Robin breathed a sigh of relief. At least _that_ secret was safe.

He turned back to the dance hall and watched Alfred and Bruce talking. How _long_ had he known? A day? A month? _Years_? The teen grit his teeth as he felt tears welling up in his eyes. _Why_ _hadn't he told him_? He lifted his head to the sky, seeing only dirty clouds that seemed a hazy orange in the glow of the huge city lights.

It was only when he tasted blood that he opened his mouth with a growl, releasing his tongue from between his teeth. He needed to get out. Leave. _Now_. He considered simply hopping over the marble railing and walking to the garage for a bike, but it would be trouble if anyone saw him jump because they were four stories up. He glanced around, waiting for the right moment and freezing when he saw a pair of eyes watching him.

Bruce gave a tight smile and motioned for the teen to come closer. Dick almost backed away and considered bailing over the side of the railing, witnesses be damned. Instead, he took a deep breath and unclenched his fists before walking back into the ballroom. From the other side of the dancehall, Slade was chatting with a group of dolled-up desk workers, who he seemed to be cornered by. The man lifted his eyes, however, and watched as the teen moved, noticing the light rigidity that the teen took on when he didn't want to do something.

"I'm going to take Alfred up to his quarters," Bruce quietly told his ward.

"Quite a good idea, Master Bruce, quite good." Alfred turned to the billionaire with a very pleased expression and raised his empty glass before trying to take another drink.

"I think perhaps our guest of honor has celebrated a bit too enthusiastically," Bruce smiled to a few of the surrounding guests. "Come on you old party animal, say goodnight."

"Quite so, quite so!" Alfred nodded very cordially to his guests.

"I'm going out," the teen said quietly to his mentor before turning and heading for the door. He had to hide his sneer when a firm hand closed around his elbow and pulled him back. He looked into Bruce's eyes, catching them just as they glanced at Slade.

"Stay," Bruce said in a low and serious voice, his eyes digging into the teen's blue orbs, searching for the reason behind his sudden coldness.

Robin wanted to say no. He wanted to scream it. He wanted to punch the man in the jaw and leave like he'd done years ago. But he didn't. He swallowed his pride and nodded, hating every moment of his forced amity.

"Master Dick, be quite certain to floss tonight!" Alfred scolded with a wide grin on his face as he patted the teen's head and was subsequently marched out of the room by Bruce.

The Titan grit his teeth and turned his head, blinking back the hot, angry tears that brimmed in his eyes, making him crave his mask so that he could at least hide his frustration behind it. His eyes fell instantly to Slade, who was watching him from across the room with a curious and dark expression.

Robin glared openly as he made his way to the villain. Did Slade know as well? Had _he_ known the whole time?

"Dick!" The teen was suddenly veered off course by a red haired young man that thrust a glass of scotch into the teen's hands. "Babysitters just left the room, let's party!"

"Not now, Wally, I-" Dick began, looking at his former teammate who, for various and tragic reasons, had quit the Titans and joined with the League as a replacement for the original Flash. The young man had a wide smile on his face, but his green eyes were determined.

"Don't be a party pooper," the red-head jabbed the teen in the ribs and laughed playfully before downing his drink in a single fast motion and dragging the hero to a table filled with glasses.

"No, really," the annoyed teen pushed past the other man and turned back to Slade, who was now watching with keen interest, much to the chagrin of the office workers that were still fawning over him.

"Pitiful lightweights," a strong female voice sounded from the left and Dick was soon forced back to the drink table by his former teammate. Diana was dressed in a modest but flattering plum-colored dress that was suitable for such formal events. Her attitude, however, was less than refined as she motioned to seven empty glasses that were neatly stacked into a tower.

"Ah! She's beating us!" The redhead cried as the Amazon drained a glass and reached for another. Before Dick could even express his complete and utter lack of interest in the game, a glass was lifted to his lips and alcohol splashed around the outside of his mouth.

Just then, a rather brilliant plan caught his attention. Bruce wouldn't want a drunken ward stumbling around the party, would he? His lips twisted into something of a smirk and a sneer before he opened his mouth and let the burning drink pass into his throat.

"Another," he said, slamming the glass to the table and casting an eye over the Slade, who gave him a very inquisitive look before glancing at his wristwatch. Soon a fresh drink was in his hands, or rather, his stomach as he downed it even faster than the first. He gave a loud whoop and a shiver before he lifted an arm to wipe his mouth. This move was not only exaggerated, but very intentional. By lifting his sleeve, he was able to block his mouth from the view of the Amazon and the Speedster, giving him just enough time to mouth the word _Library_ to the villain across the way. He picked a third drink from the table and brought it to his lips, casting his eyes over to the disguised Slade, who gave him a nod of understanding before turning his attention back to the swarm and excusing himself.

Without even a hint of hesitation, another drink was forced into Dick's hands and by the redhead and consequently downed like the three previous. Wally, who was beginning to look just a little blurry around the edges, pushed yet another drink into his hands. The teen wondered briefly about the necessity of another drink when the beverage was guided to his lips with the aid of the ever helpful redhead. He swallowed the drink and let his gaze drift back the villain, only to find that he had disappeared.

Robin felt a smile cross over his features, knowing that Slade had understood and was on his way to the library on the opposite side of the mansion. Good. They would be able to talk there and maybe Robin could get some straight answers.

"No more," he heard Wonder Woman's voice and turned back to the pair of League members, eyeing them with a bleary blue and wondering just when the room had become so hazy. Wally glanced around the dance floor before nodding, something that was not lost on Dick, despite the alcohol slowly creeping into his system. In retrospect, eating only a small dinner and nothing else was an incredibly bad idea.

"I assume Bruce made you endure all manner of dance lessons," Diana asked, taking the teen by the arm and pulling him onto the floor.

"Do all Amazons ask to dance by dragging their partner to the floor?" Dick grumbled. He knew a distraction when he saw one. Clearly, Diana and Wally had been asked by Bruce to make sure Slade stayed away or, as it seemed, that Dick Grayson did.

He obliged the princess with a dance, keeping his eyes peeled and noting that Wally disappeared for a brief moment, only to reappear and nod to his dance partner, who gave a warm smile that she quickly directed at the teen. Well, that damn well cinched it.

The music stopped and Dick carefully excused himself from the princess, giving the explanation that, although they had stopped dancing around the room, the room had started dancing around him.

It occurred to the teen that perhaps he should have shown a bit more discretion in his drinking. Having never actually drunken alcohol before, he wasn't particularly sure if he'd had too much, or even what it was that he drank. All he knew was that it tasted like rubbing alcohol and that he'd had four… five? Maybe it was time for some water. He moved quickly to the table and guzzled the first water glass that he saw, only to realize that it had been some woman's glass and she was now eyeing him suspiciously. He shrugged it off and grabbed a new water that he thrust into her hands. Well, he wanted to look like a drunken ass and he certainly achieved it.

"You got him drunk?" Dick heard Bruce's voice through the crowd, although the man was speaking rather quietly. Robin snorted out a half-formed laugh at the cocktail effect, which readily manifested a pun in his mind.

"Just a little," Wally said defensively. "Good news is he went with it, right? He took one of your motorcycles in the process, but-"

"Quiet," Bruce said in a fast but low voice. Robin could hear whispers after that, but they were too convoluted by the crowd to make out anything useful.

"Damn it," the teen mumbled, surprised at the sound of the slur in his voice. He stumbled towards the exit, sneer barely contained under an intoxicated stupor. "I'm going to bed," he said as he passed his mentor, not actually bothering to wait around for a response or debate. He didn't even give the courtesy of looking back; he only walked out, as calmly and coldly as possible.

There was no argument from Batman as he left.

* * *

Getting through Wayne Manor without disturbing the security system was an easy task for Dick, who used to use the system to test his skills. Despite a few stumbles, he managed to make it to the library without complication. He pushed the thick wooden doors shut and turned to the darkened room.

"Slade?" He called out, walking quietly and listening for sounds of breathing. There was nothing. "Slade?" he tried again, gritting his teeth at the absolute silence that responded to him. "FUCK!" The teen growled, kicking over a table and sending a few books into the air, their pages fluttering briefly until they landed on the ground with heavy thuds.

Something in him snapped. Maybe it was the booze, or the resentment towards his mentor and the League, or anger that Slade wasn't there as planned, or some terrible combination of everything and nothing, but something simply gave and the hero found himself thrashing out at any and all of the objects surrounding him. In very little time, he obliterated the table he had kicked over and sent the books that had been on the floor a good fifteen feet in the air before kicking them across the room, letting the pages fly and scatter to the floor. He grabbed an antique kerosene lamp, which was blessedly bone-dry, and sent it hurtling against one of the tall bookshelves before turning his attention to a grand wooden chair that he kicked over and was about to beat the inanimate shit out of before he heard a voice.

"Didn't mean to interrupt." Slade was clinging to the edge of a particularly large shelf and looking rather beside himself at the little tantrum he had just witnessed. A quick glance upward told Robin that he'd snuck in from a skylight.

Robin spared no thought on embarrassment and went straight to interrogations. "You knew too, didn't you?" he hissed, abandoning the fallen chair to point a finger at the villain.

"You're going to have to be more specific than that, boy," Slade responded, his amusement dwindling just a bit.

"Batman! You know that he knows about you! That he knows who you are!"

"Does he?" Slade asked in a low and throaty voice that evoked images of a tiger stalking its prey. It sent a shiver up the teens spine but he kept his blue eyes locked ferociously on the man as he dropped to the floor, ripping his suit a bit at the seams before he stood at his full height. "What makes you think that?"

"You saw it, didn't you?" Robin spat, feeling a set of hot tears roll down his cheeks as he marched up to the man and poked a finger against his broad chest. "The way he separated us so quickly! The way the redhead and the woman pulled me away as I was going towards you, distracting me with the first available resource!"

"My congratulations to The Flash and Wonder Woman. I think it worked," Slade responded, getting a whiff of the alcohol on the teen's breath. Robin gave a brief glare of indignation at the man's quick but accurate deduction, not that it was terribly hard to figure out since it had been Flash who followed him and, well, at six feet tall Diana was never one for subtlety."Don't you think The Bat would have _said something_ to you if he knew?"

Robin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, concentrating on keeping the rest of his tears inside. The last thing he needed now was to blubber all over Slade like an idiot. "He _should_ have told me…" the teen hissed, digging his nails into his palms and biting his tongue again. The battle between the hurt and anger flared up inside him, but the hero gladly chose anger for the chance that he could ignore the pain. "God _DAMNIT_!" He lifted a vase of dried roses and threw them into the fireplace where they shattered and spread among the bits of ash.

Slade raised a brow and huffed quietly at the teen's outburst before sitting down at a nearby table and glancing at the books that covered them.

"He should have fucking _TOLD ME_!" The teen yelled, kicking one of the thick book shelves and earning the crack and groan of breaking wood. "I _TRUSTED HIM_!" Another kick landed centimeters from where the first hit. "I _CARED_ ABOUT HIM!" Another hit, sending slivers of mahogany to the floor. "I WANTED TO… to…" Dick froze, pulling his foot away from the wood and choking back a sob. He swallowed once and took a breath before turning on the man. "You already knew, didn't you? That's why you're not saying anything!"

"No, I'm thinking," Slade said calmly, blatantly watching his wristwatch as if he had been timing how long the teen's little tantrum would last. He gave the hero a steely look before studying the books before him, all of which seemed to be Bibles. There was just enough light from the city pouring in through the windows for him to read. "_And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence._"

"Luke Sixteen." Robin muttered, shaking his head at the lack of focus as if he could clear away his intoxication and suddenly become logical again.

"Yes, and John Eleven in this," Slade replied, looking over to another Bible, and then another, finding it to be a different version with the same text. All of them, in fact, were open to those verses.

"I don't really see how that helps us now," The teen snapped, slamming his palms over the texts and glaring at the man.

"It doesn't," Slade replied. "Neither does getting drunk off your ass, but here we are."

"Don't give me that," he spat, grabbing the man by his stolen shirt and dragging him forward, ignoring the dangerous look he received in response. "YOU KNEW, _DIDN'T YOU_? Did you know his identity too? Did you know _MINE?_"

"You're being stupid," Slade said very plainly. "If I'd known that, I would have used it to my advantage. Why Batman isn't doing that is beyond me." He glanced at his watch again and pushed the smaller hands away from the now wrinkled shirt. "In the meantime, I think it's best that I relocated my safe houses in Gotham. Call me tomorrow, if you're done crying." He stood to his feet and quickly dodged a left hook that Robin threw his way before wrapping his hand over the comparatively smaller wrist and pulling hard.

Dick flew over the top of the table, scattering several of the thick, heavy texts to the floor before he crashed against a group of chairs with a loud grunt. He wasn't down for more than a moment, however, because soon he launched an attack from the ground, shooting his leg into the man's gut and making him stumble backward into the table.

"Bastard," Dick hissed, jumping to his feet and swinging his leg around to kick the man in the ribs.

"Sloppy, Robin," the villain growled, locking the teen's leg in a hold. "Just like before."

"Shut up!" The teen roared, swinging his arms and barely grazing the man's chest. Seeing that his first approach wasn't working, he swung his free leg up to kick the villain in the side of the head. Unfortunately for the younger man, Slade was easily able to identify his plan of attack and simply caught the other leg and knocked the drunken boy off balance, a task not particularly hard to do, considering.

"Stop it," Slade hissed as he swung the teen over the table, knocking remainder of the leather-bound bibles to the floor before grabbing his wrists and slamming them hard against the glossy mahogany. "I know what you're doing, boy." Slade leaned forward, leering over the hero's body. "Looking for pain in the body so you can ignore the pain in your head... You're so predictable." He twisted the wrists in his hands, straining the younger man's joints and causing him to cry out. "It's not my fault that Daddy lied to you, so don't try to take it out on me. If you want pain, Grayson, just _ask_ for it."

Robin shivered against the table, his breath shaking as he drew in long, haggard gasps of air and glared into the man's left eye.

"Hurt me," he breathed, tears spilling from his eyes.

Slade gave him a long, cold smile, looking oddly at peace as he let out a slow exhale through his nose. "Beg me."

Robin glared into the man's eye before turning his head and whispering. "Please…"

Slade gave a deadly purr of a chuckle before releasing his grip on the boy's wrists. Truthfully, he was disappointed that there wasn't more struggle left inside his lover. He'd known Robin to be overwhelmed and foolhardy at times, but it was rare that the hero would give up without some sort of fight.

The hero watched through bleary eyes as Slade's cold, hard expression became calculating as the man reached forward and took hold of the teen's tie. The villain was mercilessly slow as he pulled, tightening the silk around his neck until it became clear that the young man was struggling to breathe.

"Do you know _why_ you want pain, Robin?" Slade whispered almost innocently as he straddled the smaller body and held the boy's wrists with one hand. "Hmm?" he asked, his real eye glittering darkly in the dim light. The struggling hero managed to shake his head and Slade smiled before leaning down to whisper. "Because you crave the logic behind it… It makes _sense_ that I should _hurt_ you, that _I _should give you _pain.._. That's why you _like_ it when I _fuck you_ so hard that you _bleed_."

"No," the teen choked out, tears dripping from the corners of his eyes as a red blush crawled up from his neck.

Slade gave him a particularly wicked grin and put more pressure on the captured wrists as the teen struggled. "Haven't you noticed that your tears are always drowning in blood? That you always want it _harder_ when you're upset?" Robin let out a dry gasp before his body let out an involuntary jolt. "Like when I _ripped_ your mask away… When you agreed to our _arrangement_… Remember? Remember how you _welcomed_ the _pain_ I gave you? How you _struggled_ when it wasn't there?"

"Sla-…. Pl..eas…" Robin gasped, his body shaking and his eyes turning bloodshot. He bucked under the man's grasp and the villain smiled, feeling his lover's erection bump against his thigh.

Slade quickly pulled the silk knot undone, watching as the body underneath him writhe and cough. Robin turned his head to the side as though he refused to look at the villain, who waited until his lover faded to a more respectable shade of pink before he pressed his palm to the teen's cheek and smiled.

"Tell me to stop, Robin," Slade whispered. "Tell me to stop, and I will."

The hero kept his head turned to the side, chest heaving under the thick material of his suit. A heavy hand pushed hard against his chest, making his pretty blue eyes widen as his lips parted to choke out a helpless little sound.

"Tell me," Slade growled, grinding his palm against the teen's body.

"Don't…" Dick's voice barely managed a whimper. "Don't stop…"

"Turn over," Slade's voice was cold and distant, just what the teen needed to hear. "I'm going to fuck you."

Robin gave a defeated sort of sound before he began to roll onto his side, crying out when Slade grabbed his arm and wrenched him over and onto his stomach, forcing him down against the table. A heavy hand landed in his hair and the teen allowed himself the comfort of a pained whimper.

"I said _turn over_," Slade said cruelly, grinding the teen's face against the wood.

Robin didn't even flinch at the sound of a switch blade, nor at the sound of fabric being split with a single, long motion. Cold air ghosted over his back, broken intermittently by Slade's warm breath and a stinging cold blade that was teased across his skin. The pressure wasn't enough to cut him, only to let him know it was there, waiting and taunting.

"Do it." Robin's voice was weak, not at all the demanding voice he would usually use.

"Quiet." Slade's voice was filled with a commanding heat, but felt cold and detached as the words fell from his tongue. "You will speak only when spoken to… better yet…" The villain smirked as he pulled the pieces of the silk tie from the remnants of the suit's collar. He balled up the thicker end and shoved it in the teen's mouth before taking the rest and using it to tie the gag into place. "It's a good look for you. Keep your hands above your head. If you move them, I'll tie them down too," Slade commented smugly before returning his attention to the pale back. He pushed a finger against the base of the boy's neck before running it down the length of his spine, feeling the little bumps and dimples.

Robin kept his breath steady as he felt strong hands wrap around his hips and undo his belt before slowly dragging it out from the pant loops. He heard the snap before the stinging pain shot across his back, making him rear up slightly and cry out against the silk gag. Another followed it as Slade lifted the belt and brought it down once again, striking it against the teen's back and watching as he jumped and cried out at the pain.

"Keep those hands up," Slade commanded, letting the leather crack against the pale sides.

Robin flinched, but held his position firmly, taking another hit and biting down on the silk gag in his mouth.

"Does it hurt?" Slade asked in a teasing monotone as the sound of leather on skin echoed through the room. "_Are you hard_?" A particularly loud snap of the belt landed across Robin's shoulder blades, earning a jolt from his body and a muffled sound of pain. "_Well_?" Slade hissed, sliding his fingers against the young man's covered bottom and pushing against his opening. "I _asked_ if you were _hard_."

Robin swallowed against the silk tie, trying to suck the moisture out so that he wouldn't embarrass himself by drooling. It wasn't until he moved that he realized he was too late. He turned his head just enough to see a sliver of the villain's face before he nodded slowly and gave a muffled '_yes.'_

"Good. Now listen closely." Slade leaned forward so that his breath was felt on Dick's ear: hot, wet, and dripping with the fierce cruelty that sent shivers up the hero's spine. "I'm going to pull your pants down. You will spread your legs for me, and I will slowly push inside you," Robin listed intently as a pair of thick fingers circled his entrance through his trousers, teasing with just the right amount of slowness and pressure. "I'm going to use your saliva as a lubricant. It won't be enough to prevent the pain, but I'm not going to stop until I come inside you. I've fucked you more than enough times to prepare you for the pain you will receive, so I expect that you will keep quiet and not scream. Do you understand?"

Robin nodded silently against the table and listened to the sound of a zipper and rustling cloth as Slade pulled himself out of his trousers, already hard and slightly wet at the tip. Soon it was Dick's turn, Slade pulled down the fly on his dress pants and slowly pulled the fabric back, revealing the teen's other half and, between the boy's thighs, a hard set of balls and a leaking erection. Robin drew in a shaking breath as he spread his legs, fighting against the fabric until Slade stepped on the crotch of the pants, dragging them down to the floor where the teen was able to free one of his legs by stepping out. He held his breath when a hand slammed in front of his face before dragging down and collecting the small bit of saliva that had leaked from the teen's mouth and onto the wood.

"Not very much, is there?" Slade tsked as he spread the moisture over his cock and moved into position. "Ah well, you can take it."

Robin closed his eyes at the slow breaching, feeling the tip of the man's erection pushing against the sensitive skin before the head pushed inside. From there, it was a slow and torturous process. Dick could feel every pulse of every vein on the man's shaft as it moved inside him, inching bit by bit, sometimes pausing or pulling back just enough to make the hero think the man was pulling out.

"You stopped crying," Slade said off handedly, only half-buried inside the teen. "Such a shame. Those eyes are so pretty when you cry." He gave a low chuckle and pushed in a tiny part more. "Makes me want to fuck you dry, just to watch your eyes water."

Thankfully, the little bit of saliva had gone a long way. Still, Robin was panting by the time the man's length was completely inside him. Covered in a thin sheen of sweat that smelled faintly of the alcohol he had consumed; his hands were still stretched out above his head, arms aching from holding them in such a position.

"Can you feel it?" Slade asked darkly, leaning over the teen and pivoting his hips to tease. "I'm inside you, pushed in as far as I can go… You've done well to keep your silence this far. Let's see how long you can keep it up." This time, Dick felt the slap of leather against his skin before he realized the sound. He jolted against the stinging force and accidentally lowered his hands as a defensive maneuver. "Hands up!" Slade growled, bringing the belt down hard over the teen's biceps. Robin cried out in pain and straightened his arms, focusing instead on curling his fingers every time the man sent the leather to his skin. "Just for that, you may not come before me. Do you understand?"

Robin, with a dazed whimper, nodded.

Slade smirked with each new strike, feeling the hero tighten around his erection in time with the marks. He pulled back and thrust in slowly, forming a rhythm that he would break every so often, just to keep the boy on edge. Robin was moaning, screaming sometimes, and leaking tears from the pain. His back, sides, and ass were spotted red and purple, they would fade considerably by morning, sadly. Sleeping on them would be painful, but it would serve as a decent reminder of the physical distraction the hero achieved through sex and the stinging strikes of leather.

The hero had lost count somewhere between twenty and thirty strikes, but Slade kept a detailed record in his brain. _thirty-four_… _thirty-five_…

Robin bucked and tightened just after thirty-seven, letting out a euphoric groan as he came, tightening around the villain in an erratic pattern that Slade took full advantage of by thrusting hard into the hero. It was close to a dry-fuck at that point, and there would certainly be a little damage. Slade smirked as he came as well, knowing his release would sting as it stuck against the hero's insides. The last few thrusts were pounded into the Titan as he emptied what was left of his orgasm. Just as he finished with his final strike, the muscles in Robin's body simply seemed to give. He collapsed onto the table his body shaking, panting with half-lidded eyes and a distant expression that told Slade exactly what had happened.

"It's mind numbing, isn't it?" Slade chuckled as he pulled out and sent a cold smile to his pretty little masochist. "All that pressure building up inside with nowhere to go but _through_ you. Before you know it, you're floating away…" He gave a contented sigh before leaning down and kissing the marks on Robin's back, rolling his tongue over some of them because he knew the heat would burn. He gave a small nip at the teen's neck and teased his ear with tooth and tongue. "Are you dazed, Robin? Mesmerized by the euphoria that only pain can bring you?" His smile darkened when the teen gave a nod, blue eyes distant and unfocused. "Pity," Slade's voice was low and rough, the perfect after-sex voice that Robin loved, "Because we're not done yet. You see, I ordered you not to come before me, and what did you do…? Hmm…?" Slade waited for the response he knew Dick couldn't give before smirking and undoing the tie around his own neck.

Robin didn't have the strength or the desire to put up a fight as Slade wrapped the stolen necktie around his wrists before securing it to the back of an elaborately carved wooden chair.

"You disobeyed orders, Robin. That deserves punishment," Slade said, tightening his grip over the leather belt and licking his lips. "Twenty more should do it." He raised his arm, smiling, and brought the belt hard across the teen's behind.

"**One**_._"

The Titan whimpered through the gag, coming out of his daze prematurely with a fresh round of pain.

"**Two**."

The blue eyes became more alert and Robin let out a little cry of pain.

"**Three**."

"'_Arr-er!_" Robin implored through his gag, trying to cast Slade a hazy glare under his drunkenness, lust, and fading euphoria.

A thick hand raked through Robin's hair, pulling his head back as Slade leered forward.

"Harder?" He asked, seeming affronted if not for the smile on his face.

" 'ehs…" Robin gasped, feeling a stinging wave of pain cross over his welts.

Slade chuckled, still holding onto Robin's hair, forcing his head back as he raised the belt once again.

"**Four**."

Robin jumped visibly at the seventh strike, crying out into the gag as the leather made forceful contact with his testicles. It hurt more than any of the previous strikes and left a very cruel grin on Slade's features. The villain aimed his next lash to fall on that same spot, earning another jump and a half-gagged scream of pain.

"**Eight**."

Robin tensed his entire backside, preparing for the next hit that nicked the very bottom of his balls and sent a stinging feeling all through him.

"**Nine**."

Thick droplets of cum trickled down from the hero's anus, dripping down over his sac and falling onto the table and carpet below. It was a fascinating mix of pearl with tiny hints of pink that came courtesy of the tears inside the teen.

"**Eleven**."

Slade felt himself hardening at the sight of _his_ cum dribbling down the hero's ass and thighs. Better still that it fell onto Batman's carpet, inches from where some of those priceless texts had fallen.

"**Fourteen**."

Dick's eyes were wide, taking in every bit of the pain as Slade counted down the strokes.

"**Eighteen**…"

"**Nineteen**…"

"**Twenty**…"

The hero gasped, feeling as he had been deprived of air for his whole life and was, for the first time, actually breathing. His vision blurred as Slade released his hair, letting the Titan fall against the table and continue breathing in a slow, peaceful manner. The world seemed clearer in that instant, but also so completely numb to reason. For a tiny but very significant moment, the hero completely lost himself in darkness.

* * *

"It's beautiful…" Slade whispered to the teen as he traced his fingers up the Titan's leg, collecting cum as he went and smoothing his slickened hands over the red marks. "You did very well, Robin. I'm proud."

The hero flushed slightly at the sentiment, ignoring the gnawing feeling in the back of his mind that told him he shouldn't take pleasure out of Slade's praise.

"I'm going to remove your gag now, but you must remain quiet. If you cry out, I will leave immediately. Do you understand?" Slade asked in that same low purr that set Robin's cock on end.

The hero nodded and closed his eyes, almost too dazed to recognize the feeling of the gag being pulled from his mouth. He did, however, recognize the feeling of Slade's hands brushing his hair out of his face and planting a kiss on his head, cheek, and then lips. Robin opened his mouth, welcoming the warm taste of metal as Slade's tongue slithered against his own.

He let out a small groan and a long hiss as Slade rolled him onto his back. His welts made contact with the wood, stinging as he tried to adjust himself but finding it difficult as his hands were still tied above his head.

When a strong hand wrapped around his half-formed erection, all thoughts of comfort were wiped from his mind, replaced with thoughts of lust, pain, and that bizarre nothingness that came with release. He wanted that feeling back, forever, if possible, although he knew such a thing was unfeasible and actually quite undesirable.

"Fuck me again," Robin whispered, thrusting up into the rough hand. "I need you…"

Slade was not remotely touched by the teen's plea; after all, it was only ten-percent Robin (at best) and ninety-percent booze that was _really_ doing the talking. Never the less, he moved between the boy's legs, spitting into his hand and rubbing the saliva over his hard length.

Robin jolted at the very fast penetration that came with a snap of the man's hips before melting back against the table with a groan.

"Good," he moaned, throwing his head back as Slade began to move inside him and glancing down to see his own cock bouncing. "_Harder_."

"I think maybe you've forgotten who's in charge here," Slade gave a cold half-smirk as he grabbed the teen's hair and wrenched his head backwards. "What do you say when you want something from your _master_?"

Robin glared through his drunken, lust-filled haze. Slade was staring down at him with a dark expression, knowing that he'd hit a key spot in their little game and waiting for the teen to make his move.

"Too far," Robin said with earnest in his eyes as he wound his legs around the man. "Just fuck me."

Slade tilted his head slightly as if he were studying his options. His eye ravished the hero's pretty blue eyes and his cum-stained belly before he let out a compromising sort of exhale through his nose. He smirked and leaned over the slender body, kissing the teen's collar bone and murmuring. "How hard do you want it?"

The question rang in the young man's brain, calming his stinging mind and making him smile when the answer melted into view.

"Fuck me," Robin said, his blue eyes burning through the glaze of eroticism and alcohol, "like _he_ was watching us."

"Thought you said no more games," Slade grinned at him and said in a rough voice while he pulled back, leering down at the hero before grabbing his legs and pushing them on either side of the teen's body. His hips slammed into Robin's, making him buck and gasp as a delicious sort of pleasurable pain flooded through him.

"Aaah!" Dick cried out when Slade thrust deeply into him again. "Sl- ahh! Gag! Gag me!"

"No, I don't think I will," the villain smirked as he delivered a set of very fast but shallow thrusts into the teen, creating a series of slapping noises that blended quite harmoniously with Robin's moans. "If he was watching, I would want him to hear _every little sound_… Ahhh, like that one," Slade said after a small whimper from the Titan. "That helpless little sound as I fuck you… claim you as mine before his very eyes… And that… the sticky sound that's made as my cock moves in and out of your body…" he slowed considerably, making long, forceful movements as he cupped the hero's cheek in his hand and towered over him. "Even the sound of your breath as I take you… Quivering with the blind intent to climax."

"Ahh… Pl…ea…"

"Are you close?" Slade asked in a hushed tone, hot breath ghosting over the teen's neck. "Are you _aching_ to come?"

"Yes!" Robin gasped, writhing against the table as he felt his body beginning to shake with the impending feeling of his orgasm. He groaned and bucked when a set of thick fingers wrapped around his cock and stopped the cum from escaping.

"Not so fast," Slade cooed, running his thumb from the tip of the Titan's member down to the base. "I didn't say you could climax."

"I understand," Robin breathed, looking at the man with a level gaze, his chest heaving.

"Feeling relaxed, aren't you?" Slade's lips curled at one end as a hand moved away from his penis and up to his nipples, which it teased lightly with a few passes of his fingertips.

"Yeah…" Dick mumbled, his eyes beginning to sharpen. "I just need-"

"More. I know," the villain breathed, taking one of the golden rings into his grasp and twisting it. Robin arched and swore, his cock bouncing in the man's grasp. "Your body is feeding off its own endorphins." The hero let out a strange sort of whimper-growl as Slade pulled out and quickly untied the teen's wrists. "It takes more pain to reach that oblivion that you crave."

"Give it to me."

"It's not up to you to decide," Slade told him in a cold, matter-of-fact tone. "I'm not giving you control." Robin was silent as Slade climbed on the thick wood of the table, smirking as their cum smeared across the surface as he dragged the hero onto his lap.

Robin gave a hard shudder as Slade's cock entered him, thick, hot, and wet with a new layer of spit. The pain only returned as the villain pulled him down against his chest. He winced at the feeling of his whipped skin rubbing against Slade's, sending raw and stinging waves into his brain. Slade leaned back against the table, taking Robin with him as his hips began a new, shallow rhythm of thrusts.

Robin's breath hitched in his throat as a rough finger slipped into his nipple ring and tugged lightly at the skin. The hand on his penis migrated south, cupping his balls and squeezing until he couldn't take any more and cried out, just as Slade's mouth covered his, eating the groan straight from his lips.

As Slade's tongue moved deeper, playing against the hero's teeth, his hands worked more furiously at his skin, rubbing and wringing in all the right places. Robin was putty in his grip, moaning and bucking against his cock. He would come, but it wouldn't be enough. He needed more. More pain, more _edge_. The hand teasing his nipple moved, allowing the man to reposition his arm around the teen's neck.

Robin moaned at first, thinking it to be a quick tease, but the man held his stance, kneading his palm against the teen's groin while his arm tightening around his neck.

"I'm pressing on your carotid arteries," Slade let him know in a low and deadly whisper. "A common tactic used by law enforcement to immobilize a criminal, so I'm sure you know it." Robin struggled in his arms. "You're going to lose consciousness soon, and chances are that you'll come in the process."

Dick's fingers clawed at the villain's arm, an instinct that his brain could not overcome as the blood flow struggled and the darkness began to take hold. It was a very primal sensation, fighting for his life. Robin had felt it countless times before, but never quite so intimately. It was a very strange feeling, as if his senses were both dulled and heightened all at once, as if he were experiencing everything second-hand, watching himself struggle.

Slade's hand moved over his cock, pumping and squeezing while he continued his shallow little thrusts into the Titan's body.

He could feel his orgasm building, winding up for that release that only the villain could give him. It was a race against his own blood as the choke-hold held steady. It was clear he wouldn't make it. He choked out a groaning sound as he swooned, his vision blurring and darkening all at once as his body spasmed against the man's grip.

The only thing he could remember before he fainted was the feeling of Slade's body against his and the annoying screech of the man's wristwatch as the alarm cried out.

* * *

Slade set the teen against the table, watching his body tremor as he came all over his stomach. He waited a few moments, checking his watch and turning off the alarm before the hero's body gasped for air and turned a less frightening color.

It wouldn't be long before he regained consciousness. Until then, Slade had some cleaning to do.

* * *

A/N: Don't we all have some cleaning to do? The answer is yes. I was going to say something more profound here... Can't remember... Oh well.

Until next time, my loves~


	24. Chapter 24

WARNING: this chapter is like a man-hug. It gets you uncomfortably close to some potentially deep feelings that need to be addressed, and then backs away quickly with a few pats on the back and a clearing of the throat.

* * *

Chapter 24

* * *

The Titan awoke on his back, covered in cum and dazed out of his skull. He body had a delightful ache to it as it lay against the wooden table.

He could hear movement around him, the sound of shuffling pages being closed into books and broken glass collecting into a pile. He thought about moving to look, but his head was turned to the other direction and he really didn't feel much like making an effort to change that because it might somehow disrupt the amazing sensation that he was floating in a different dimension where things like lying mentors and broken trust just didn't matter.

He didn't stir until he heard the sound of materials falling down the ash drop of the fireplace, clanking and scraping the cast-iron sides of the chute as the pieces tumbled into the belly of the mansion where they would mix with piles of ash and broken bits of wood. It was a very convenient trick the hero had used as a child, only once or twice when he broke something _really_ important that he _didn't_ want to be caught with. Dick smirked mischievously at the memory, feeling incredibly sly and stupid at the same time.

The twilight was lifting, or at least it seemed to be, because the teen felt compelled to move and ran his hand over his stomach, smiling wider at the sticky feeling that greeted his fingers. It was an oddly content numbness. There was no rush of blood through his system, no emotions, no logic, just an eerie calm that seemed to be fading faster and faster.

"You're awake?" Slade asked, floating into the teen's view and looking him over. Robin noticed a slight difference in the glare of the real and fake eye, mesmerized by it for just a moment before his brain could take in the full features of his face.

"Yeah," the Titan said, smiling up at the man before him. He knew in the back of his mind that he wasn't supposed to act like some stupid Slade-worshipping dumbass, but the numbness slinking through his body quickly shut out that thought.

Slade smirked down at him. "Still dazed, I see. It won't last much longer. Can you stand?"

"No," the teen responded honestly, though rather airily.

"Do it anyway," Slade commanded in that icy tone that made the boy shiver and frown. He wrapped a thick hand around the teen's wrist and pulled him off the wooden surface. "I can't hold you _and_ clean your cum off the table."

Dick moaned slightly, his voice faltering as Slade pulled him from the sticky table-top and directed him to the fireplace.

"You are to remain standing. Do you understand?" the villain said coldly, smirking when his little masochist nodded and clung to the ornate carvings for support.

Slade made short work of the cleaning, using bits of Dick's torn clothing and his own saliva to remove most of the mess. The rest of it, though, the broken bookshelf and the spotted imperfections in the fine polished lacquer of the table… well, those would have to stay. He'd hide it under the books for now. The carpet had already been addressed and taken care of, mostly with the help of some very potent brandy. Thankfully it was only a decorative rug, a heavily patterned one at that, so a few drops and splotches were easy to overlook.

He turned his attention to the hero and smiled at the naked form that leaned against the fireplace, back streaked with heavy lines and legs sticky with the drying cum. Poor lamb, Slade grinned. Robin had always been a victim of circumstance; most heroes were, but those sky blue eyes which looked beautiful behind tears and that stubborn, foolhardy soul made him less of a victim and more of a sacrifice, easily reaped and exploited.

He walked to the teen and wrapped his hands around the boy's chest, thumbing at the piercings and roughly drawing the smaller body closer into a domineering kiss that was answered with a long moan as Robin wrapped his arms around the man, using him for support. The hero drew in a fast breath as they parted and leaned against his body, panting and clinging.

"Which way is your room?" Slade asked.

"Down two floors and about seven rooms over," Dick replied breathlessly. "There's a secret passage by the third suit of armor in the hallway, the one with the broadsword, it'll take us most of the way there."

The villain gave a light sound of understanding and lifted the hero in his arms. It was slightly surprising that Robin didn't protest at the bridal-style treatment, but even more surprising that he leaned in closer to Slade's chest and cautiously ran a set of fingertips over the surface. The man debated in his mind whether it was the booze or the aftershock of total submission that made his little hero so amiable. He soon decided that it was likely a combined side-effect, the result of two unusual circumstances acting together to create something that the hero was never meant to be: smitten.

Dick nuzzled against Slade's chest and inhaled, taking in his scent before lifting his head and kissing the man's collar bone. The gesture was slow and with much conviction, not the usual rush of passion and fire that left both men panting and sweaty. The lust was still there, very much so, but it was measured, more _deliberate_.

Slade wondered idly if their little game had scrambled the poor boy's brain, but walked on without comment. The hallways were unsurprisingly empty as the guestrooms were all located on the northern-most side of the mansion, very near the grand ballroom where the birthday party was still raging on, despite the guest of honor's absence.

The hidden passageway was not hard to find, at least for a trained eye, and it led to a winding staircase, a narrow hallway, and then a short door that was hidden behind a South American tapestry in the hallway. No one around on this floor, either… Slade smirked, liking the idea that Batman's house was not as heavily guarded as he would have expected. Although, that was a front, wasn't it? Too many priceless treasures were placed _just_ within reach, easy enough to snatch if someone had the gumption and the skill. No, no. The shiny trinkets and invaluable items that adorned Wayne Manor did far more than decorate, they _distracted_. His smirk widened. That meant the Bat's headquarters was nearby, likely on the premises, perhaps under the very dance-floor he had treaded earlier.

"Here," Dick said softly and Slade stopped before a large, dark-stained cherry door that pushed open easily and without a sound, save for the gentle tap of the villain's polished black shoes pushing it into motion.

"Nice room," the older man said as they entered, he pushed the door closed with the same foot he used to open it. "Very… interesting décor."

Dick glanced around as well, feeling a light blush coat his cheeks. "I… haven't really lived here since…"

"Since you were still a kid, yes I see that," Slade finished for him, eyeing the posters that hung rather haphazardly on the wall and a skateboard that was leaning against a desk that had obviously been scribbled on once or twice. "It certainly has more personality to it than your current room… and the kunai holes on that wall are a nice touch." His attention turned to a smaller doorway, which was left open to a white-tiled bathroom. Just the thing he was looking for.

"I was practicing," the hero murmured and frowned, remembering the multiple scoldings he received for those holes. His frown deepened as he realized that the fog had lifted even further. He was starting to _feel_ things again, more than just the welts on his back; the emotions were rising to the surface also… betrayal and mistrust towards Bruce… and the sense of doom that came with trusting Slade. And he _did_ trust him, Robin realized. Maybe even more than Bruce, and that thought alone was depressing if not completely terrifying. He bit his lip in the hopes that fresh bit of pain would drown out his memories. It didn't work. Then again, it didn't really _need_ to work. There were other, _better_ distractions out there, namely the big distraction holding him.

"I want more," Robin breathed, licking the shell of Slade's ear and letting a hand crawl over his chest.

Slade set the teen on the bathroom counter before shaking his head. "Another night. I have some business to take care of before sunrise."

"You're leaving?" Robin asked, his heart beginning to beat faster inside his chest. He grabbed onto the man's arms, clinging to them. "Don't go. Not yet."

"You've had enough for one night, I think," Slade said _almost_ delicately as he pried the hero's hands away from his clothing and tried to move the teen back into place. "I'm late as it is."

"No!" Robin pleaded. His arms locked around the man as he shivered, panicked at the thought of being alone with nothing but his own thoughts. "Please. I… need more." He gasped for air, mind swimming as the thoughts he wanted to drown out… The impending falling out with Bruce… Batman's betrayal in keeping information from him… League members babysitting him… He didn't want to think of those things. He wanted the nothingness, the pain, the simplicity of hate, the purity of physical pleasure. "Stay. Fuck me."

"Grayson," Slade warned, trying to shake the teen off but settling to wrench his smaller body away, pushing the hero against the mirror and leering down at him.

"Please? I'll beg, if that's what you want. I'll call you master…" Dick's eyes were a bleary blue, frantic and pleading. "That's what you want, isn't it?" The alcohol lingered on his breath as he begged. "Please, Slade, _I need it_." Tears slid down his cheek and he drew in a quivering gulp of air before bowing his head and sniveling. "_Please_…"

"You're going to hate yourself in the morning. You know that, right?" Slade deadpanned. "You'll be hung-over, sore, and thoroughly disappointed in yourself. And now you want to _add_ to that list?"

Dick shook his head, not raising his gaze to meet the man's eye. How did it happen? One minute he was a heaven's gate, the next he'd fallen into hell. Everything _hurt_. The fog was gone and a thick smoke had taken its place, polluting him with a dull throbbing ache that felt like acid in his lungs and brain. What he needed and what he wanted suddenly blended together, leaving him only with a desperate longing. "I just… don't want to be alone…"

Slade sighed. He should have expected it, really. The rush of pleasure and pain that the teen experienced in the library was spent, leaving him with a void that was filling with his pent-up anguish. He was wrong to assume that the hero was accustomed to such spikes and drops in adrenaline and that he would be able to handle it on his own. Robin, like any lover, especially a submissive one, needed some sort of reassurance after a particularly trying scene. It was irresponsible to assume otherwise.

What Robin wanted now, what he _needed_, was compassion. And it was the unfortunate truth that Slade was the only one there to give it. It was different than before, when his affection had been teasing, playful little pushes past the hero's comfort zone. It was part of the plan that Robin would form some sort of attachment, but nothing close to _this_, nothing like actually _needing_ a lover or companion.

"I'll stay," Slade told him, his voice low and void of emotion. "But I expect you to remember that it was only because you _asked_ me to." The hero nodded in response, but did not speak. He kept his head low and a firm grasp on Slade's shirt, his breath a slow and steady quivering.

Slade frowned. No, this was certainly _not_ in his agenda. He looked at his watch once again, pressing several buttons and looking closely. At least _some_ things were going as planned.

* * *

A curiously painted Slade-bot dangled precariously on the side of the Wayne-tech building. Its fingers were embedded inches-deep into the concrete, but its feet dangled freely, toes pointing down to the nearly 100-foot drop.

"Shit…" it said in a low and rather frustrated manner before it began climbing, careful not to lose its grip once again. The _plan_ had been to use Xenothium to break into the building, melt the walls and simply walk right through, but the stash was all but exhausted during a previous fight. Worse yet, the supply back in Jump was gone as well, not even a single container to be found at the district's Wayne-Tech. It had all been moved, as the bot hoped, to _Gotham_. It ran an internal-tank check and growled. It had an hour, at most, before its Xenothium container was depleted and it was _game over_.

* * *

Slade blotted the hot cloth against the teen's back, collecting the mess that was left in dried streaks and smears. Robin hissed slightly at the pain, disappointed that it did not distract him from his own thoughts.

"Did it bleed?" Robin asked, his hands planted firmly on the counter, as were his instructions.

"A little," Slade responded, his voice cold but oddly soothing as he gently wiped away at a dried line of cum.

The teen hesitated for a moment, seemingly struggling with himself before he quietly asked, "Can I see?" Slade paused, quirked a brow, and reached around the smaller body, to present a slightly reddened cloth. Robin looked at it tentatively before running his fingers over the surface. "Are you proud of me… Master?"

"I prefer Slade, given the circumstances," Slade said, his comment nothing more than a simple, suggestive command, but Robin flinched all the same. "And yes... I'm very proud of you." The teen nodded half-heartedly, staring still at the cloth. "You think I'm lying?" the villain asked in a low voice as he gently pulled the cloth away and continued to clean the pale back. Robin didn't stir, staying perfectly still as if he felt his answer would not be the right one. "I'm not lying. I've seen every part of you, Robin. Your mind and your strength… not to mention every inch of your body… I'm very proud of what you have become."

"It feels like… I'm broken…" the hero rasped, letting hot, heavy tears drop to his bathroom counter.

"All humans are damaged," Slade said plainly.

"It hurts," Robin clenched his teeth as he sobbed, hands pressed back against the counter as his body shook.

The villain stared listlessly at the teen for a moment, taking in the sight of struggle and pain, before he gently turned the smaller body to face him. "Did I go too far?" Slade asked.

It was a question he did not particularly want to know the answer to. He never intended to create any sort of emotional dependency- physical, yes, but the hero could live without sex if he needed to. Without strength, however, _the hero_ did not exist at all. By rendering the boy powerless, by taking all control, Slade had broken the hero that he meant to _save_.

Robin shook his head, "No… I know that I asked for it… and that you wouldn't have done it without my consent… I… I trust you…"

Slade chuckled at the look of bewilderment and disappointment in the hero's voice as he spoke those last words. _Robin_ was in there after all, questioning why he dared to trust a villain and finding that he hated himself for it. It was a subtle, almost invisible change in the boy's demeanor, but it was there just the same. Under the pain and the hazy need, Robin was there, fighting himself, as usual.

"You shouldn't," the villain said softly, lifting the teen's jaw and looking him straight in the eye. "Every part of you is screaming not to trust me, Robin. I advise you to listen to it."

"Just promise you won't lie to me…" The younger pleaded as he leaned against Slade's chest, grasping at his clothes once again. "Not like Bruce…"

"I won't make deals that I don't intend to keep," Slade replied, placing a hand on the teen's head and running it over his slightly tangled hair.

"I know…" Robin replied softly. "That's why I trust you…"

* * *

Stealing the key-card from the security booth was easy; after all, the person inside was now dead. That, however, presented a new problem: the retina scanner. The robot quivered slightly, it would need to find a _living_ host if it wanted to get inside. An internal diagnostic report told it exactly what it didn't want to know. Time was running out.

"It's useless…" the bot whispered, sinking to the floor. If it could cry, it might have, but that ability had been lost for years. It chuckled shortly, and then growled, fighting to maintain behavioral control. It had been that way since the merger. Despite _the human_ motivations, the _programming_ of the _machine_ always seemed to intrude, leaking into his decisions, silently guiding his actions with such stealth that it was impossible to determine if the actions were the result of _personal motivation_ or the influence of _programmed design_. It was an absolute melding of metaphysical willpower and artificial intelligence. Both were there, locked in a silent battle for control, and yet both were gone, nothing but an empty shell of metal and wires.

The perfect paradox.

The bot lifted its head at the sound of titanium doors sliding open, catching the first echo of a three-sided conversation. It readied its weapons. It only needed one hostage.

* * *

Slade had decided not to comment on the cartoon bed sheets, but damned if it didn't seem especially fucked up to be _spooning_ the hero under tiny little caricatures. Robin himself seemed to have chosen to ignore the fact entirely, but the rosy hue that had appeared on his cheeks when the covers were first lifted completely gave him away.

"Can't sleep?" Slade asked when Robin shifted against him, not for the first time since they had settled in. Maybe he wasn't used to sleeping in actual pajamas... Or clothes. The villain's mind reeled at tiny little memories he allowed himself to revisit, namely waking up next to the naked teen. He stopped himself, however, as it was certainly not time to think about such things.

"No," he replied softly, moving once again until he was turned to face Slade. His face was flushed slightly in the darkness, but his eyes delivered a pleading, come-hither look. "I keep thinking about the library…"

Slade frowned and cupped the hero's cheek in hand. He opened his mouth for an apology that he wasn't sure he meant, pausing when the teen pressed closer to him, letting a hard length slide against his beefy thigh._ Ohh_… Slade smirked. _That's_ what he meant by _thinking_.

"Can I kiss you?" Robin asked meekly, his eyes looking up at the man almost fearfully.

"Of course," Slade purred, tilting his head down and pressing his lips against the teen's mouth. It was chaste at first, a gentle and soothing pressure of skin on skin, but when the young man opened his mouth, the villain did not reject the invitation. Robin made a soft sound, both a keen and a whimper, as Slade's tongue slid against his own and a large hand roamed down his back. The sound turned into a little gasp and Robin's body trembled as a tingling pain roamed over his back. "Does it hurt?" the villain asked, breaking the kiss and nuzzling the teen, carefully monitoring his reaction in the hopes that he could manipulate the hero into a more stable mindset.

"Only a little," he answered, fiddling with the buttons of the stolen shirt that Slade was still wearing. "But it feels good when you touch it... it stings… but it's _warm_." His eyes turned sad. "I guess I forgot how cold Gotham is."

"If you're cold, you should ask me to warm you," Slade offered rather benevolently, or at least he thought so. Robin's face wrinkled slightly and he made a small sound as he tried not to cry. Slade, sensing the tensing of the smaller body and seeing a pair of watery eyes shine in the darkness, fought the urge to groan. Robin wasn't going to cry again, was he? The villain took a deep breath and spoke as soothingly as he could. "Your body is tense. Why don't you tell me what you're upset about?"

"No," Robin murmured, brushing the tears out of his eyes and pressing his forehead against the broad chest. "It's stupid."

_Yeah. Probably_. The villain's mind was all too happy to provide internal commentary which Slade wisely did not repeat. In his current state, Robin was fragile. Despite the little signs that abated Slade's concern, such as the hints of frustration and anger in the teen's tone, the villain knew he was walking a tightrope. If he was too cold, the boy might do something reckless, that would jeopardize his plans; however, if he was too caring, then he might mistake their relationship as something it was _clearly_ not, which would damage his plans for the future. He needed to tread carefully.

"Tell me," Slade soothed, his voice gentle and authoritative.

The silence lasted for a long moment before a small voice finally replied, "I don't want to ask… for sex…"

Slade cocked a brow before smirking as he finally understood. Of course Robin didn't want to _ask_, he wanted to _be_ asked. In their relationship, Robin's power was in his ability to manipulate through sex; as far as he knew, it was his greatest _weapon_ against Slade.

"Then don't," the villain replied very simply. "You think I only want it if you beg? Trust me Grayson, that is not the case." He shifted the teen to lie on his back before leaning over him with a steely look in his disguised eyes. "It's _you_ I want, regardless of the games, the _fixations_; you make me every bit as _hard_ when you _demand_ sex as when you _beg_ for it."

Slade did not wait long before pressing his lips against the teen's mouth, slowly but confidently exploring as Robin timidly returned the effort. The teen took in a shallow gasp as the man moved down, laying kisses and tiny little flicks of his tongue against the pale skin as he slowly unbuttoned the sleeping shirt.

"You really want me?" Robin asked, his voice still timid but laced with an inquisitive teasing.

"Yes," Slade answered, finishing off the buttons on the night shirt and pulling the fabric to either side. The hero arched under his touch and moaned as Slade caressed and kissed his bare chest, moving down to his stomach and pausing just above his pajama pants.

"M…Maybe you should ask me, then…" he said rather sheepishly. The villain looked up at him, sporting a wide smirk. Robin was playing the game once again, but he obviously lacked his usual confidence.

Slade only chuckled. "Alright, Grayson. I'll ask... How many squares can you find on a chess board?"

Robin blinked down at the man, noting the pair of thick hands that hovered over the top of his pants, dangerously close to the tented mound between his legs. And just like before, he recognized a distraction when he saw one. "Another brain teaser? You're playing with me…"

"So play back," Slade responded easily, very pleased that Robin had recognized his attempt to keep his mind preoccupied. "Tell me the right answer and I'll follow your command."

Robin seemed to think about it for a moment before giving a half-hearted smirk. "Alright..." He paused again, counting in his head and mumbling a few numbers as he multiplied. "Two hundred and four."

"Very good," Slade hummed. "Your command, then?"

Robin's eyes brightened as they narrowed very slightly. "Suck me."

Slade's eyes mimicked the gesture before he bent his neck forward and closed his mouth around the teen's hard, but still very _clothed_ erection. Robin growled at the realization that Slade was _still_ toying with him by expecting his command to be extremely precise.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you mean something else?" Slade asked innocently before returning to his task, detecting the faint taste of precum through the cotton material which was slightly wet from his own saliva. "You'll have to try again. Let me see… What is strange about the phrase '_sex at noon taxes?'_ "

"You've never turned down sex, regardless of the time?" Robin tried. His tone was rather sarcastic, which Slade secretly found relieving, but did not make note of. To the hero's dismay, Slade removed his mouth from the pajamas and slowly began edging up again, tickling the teen's skin with his tongue. "Hey!"

"You'll have to guess correctly…" Slade teased, his mouth ghosting over a shapely abdomen and harassing the belly button with a small breath of air.

Robin grunted but decided to play along. The game was nothing more than a distraction, and he knew it, but he also knew that it was _working_. He wanted the distraction even more than he wanted Slade."Fine then… Sex at noon-time taxes…"

"_Sex at noon taxes_," Slade corrected, kissing the pale chest and moving steadily upward. "There is a difference."

"Ah… So it's the words, not the meaning, which are strange…" Robin whispered, speaking aloud to keep his focus. "Sex at noon taxes…" he rolled the words around in his mouth as Slade's tongue grazed his neck. "Sex at noon taxes…" The man inched his body upward, nibbling at the hero's ear. "Sex at-ahh!-ta-xes…" Robin's voice hitched in his throat as Slade's hardened length pressed against his own, rubbing their lengths together slightly as the man leaned in for a kiss. "Se-mmph!" Robin began but was cut short by Slade's tongue. The kiss lasted only for a moment before a pair of hands pressed on the sides of Slade's face, pushing his head away and smirking. "Se-sexattaxes! _Sexatnoontaxes_! _It's a palindrome_!" Robin quickly said, a smile and a sigh escaping him in a momentary rush of accomplishment that did not go unnoticed by either man.

"Very good," Slade purred, brushing a strand of hair away from Robin's head and gazing down at him with the familiar look of a hunter. "Your next command is…?"

Robin moved quickly, pushing down his pajamas just enough to let his erection bounce free. "Put your mouth over my cock and suck it… slowly."

Slade gave an arrogant kind of smirk before moving down the hero's body and pressing his lips to the shaft of the teen's very hard cock and sucking lightly. Robin let out a little moan arching at the surprising sensitivity and fullness of his testes. He'd all but cum himself to death in the library, how was it that he had anything left? Of course, he didn't waste much thought on that question, not when Slade was busy down below.

"Aah! Deeper…" Robin breathed, arching into the man's mouth but finding that he pulled away with each movement.

"Of course," Slade replied with a little smile. "Right after you answer this question…"

* * *

The Slade-Bot stood before a massive bank of tubes and vials, watching them with a certain fondness as they lit up the darkened storeroom.

No time to waste, however, because the supply was minutes from empty and there was very little doubt that Gotham's Dark Knight was soon to arrive.

"Easy come," the robot said as it took a tube in hand and absorbed the Xenothium right through the clear container, "easy go."

* * *

The game lasted almost as long as an hour, drawn out by increasingly elaborate questions and more complicated solutions. When Robin answered successfully, Slade followed his commands; when he failed, the villain pulled back, teasing him with distracting kisses and caresses that never seemed to hit the right spot. Luckily, the teen was able to focus his energy, all the anxiety and pain, into the same kind of logic he used when fighting, allowing both men a reprieve from the thralls of the Boy Wonder's problems.

"Slade, I-_ahh_!" Robin announced only a moment before the villain's mouth filled with jets of hot, white liquid.

The hero panted, smiling down at his lover as his hands caressed his own stomach with light fluttering touches. He watched as the man swallowed, opening his mouth once again to clean the remains of cum from the slackening length.

"Kiss me?" Robin whispered through a panting breath. It was neither a plea nor a command, only a simple request from one companion to the other. Slade was only too happy to oblige, this time without teasing questions and distracting touches. The time for games, for tactics and plans, was over. It was just them again, left to enjoy the feeling of their bodies intertwined. Slade crawled up the length of the teen's body and slowly let his tongue slide into Robin's mouth.

The younger boy moaned gently, arching against Slade's chest as he craved skin-to-skin contact, frowning when his fingers fumbled against the stolen trousers and his arms were confined by his own sleeping shirt. He groaned slightly into the villain's mouth, tasting the smirk on the man's features and finding the warmth hidden behind it as he struggled out of his pajamas.

Slade chuckled when he felt a pair of hands struggling to undo his fly. The teen was naked at that point, eyes lidded as his bare chest rose and fell quickly with each breath.

"Thought you'd be tired out by now," the villain gave a scoundrel's smile as he sat up and pulled the stolen shirt off his back, tossing it over the side of the bed and leering down at the teen he was straddling.

"I work best at night," the hero smiled back, finding that his task was much easier when he could actually _see_ the zipper… and even easier when Slade helped by pulling his length out, already dripping wet. Robin shuddered at the sight, anticipation building as he ran his hands over the villain's thighs. The darkness in his mind and his heart beckoned with each breath and movement, but Robin pushed them away, focusing on the feeling of the man's shaft as his fingers danced against it.

"I assume you have some sort of lube?" Slade asked, glancing at the bedside table and seeing the teen's travel case. He snatched the bag with a distracted grin, shortly pulling out a small bottle of lotion. "This will do, I think." Robin blinked as Slade set the bottle on his chest and purred, "why don't you prepare us?"

The blue eyes glanced between Slade and the bottle before Robin took the container in hand and popped the lid, pausing to look back at the smirking villain before he squeezed the lotion on to the man's cock and closed his hand around the shaft once again.

"Prepare yourself as well," the man suggested in a dulcet tone which the teen couldn't help but follow.

He switched hands, stroking Slade with his left and slowly maneuvering the right hand between his legs. Slade watched with his eyes half-lidded, keenly focused on the hero's expression as he slipped a pair of fingers inside. He flinched and let out a sharp but quiet sound as he moved deeper, spreading the lotion against the small cuts left by their previous game. Slade was happy to provide a distraction from the stinging pain, leaning forward for a soft but explorative kiss that lasted until the smaller body relaxed under him and he was able to pull back with that damn familiar smirk.

"Are you ready?" The villain asked in a low tone that sent a shiver through the teen's gut and fire in his veins. "I'll be gentle."

Robin nodded, watching the bronzed eyes as they studied him. Slade took in every little twitch of the hero's lips as he pushed himself inside. As promised, he entered slowly, giving the teen room to stop him, if needed; but Robin only bit his lip and kept his eyes locked on the man until his body was flush against him, fully inside and twitching. The movements then were still as slow, almost torturous as Slade moved unhurriedly, pulling back and then gently pushing until he was completely inside once again.

Robin's breath was made of soft, tiny gasps that almost evaporated into the darkness. His expression was strange; it looked vaguely painful, or perhaps almost sad with an apologetic tilt of his eyes. His lips were wet and slightly parted, shining in the dim light as he gritted his teeth behind them every so often. Slade was on the verge of pulling back, of ending it, when the teen wrapped his hands around the man's neck and carefully pulled him down into a curious sort of kiss that was neither soft nor demanding. He wound his fingers through the man's peppered hair, moaning into the lip-lock as Slade continued to move slowly inside him. When the kiss broke, Slade did not pull away, only hovered there a moment, letting his forehead press against his lover's as they breathed, warm air mingling together until a dizzying wave of memory caused Robin to stir.

The hero's hand on Slade's shoulder alerted him to the fact that his partner wanted to change positions. He followed the guiding touches, allowing himself to lie back against the mattress as the boy climbed on top, straddling him with the same gentle but melancholy expression. He positioned himself carefully, rubbing himself slowly on the length of the man's shaft, and then sliding his body over it and sinking down to the man's hips.

Robin's body was lit faintly by the light from the window, casting a half-silhouette across his form and highlighting the edges of his muscles with a pale, almost unearthly glow. He placed his hands on Slade's stomach, fingers brushing lightly against the thin track of hair that tapered from his belly button to his groin, and took a deep breath before pushing off. He lifted himself slowly, back arching and creating dynamic shadows across his features. His eyes, which had been downcast and almost closed, lifted as his head tilted back. The shadows moved gracefully on his neck as he breathed, a soft moan escaping while his body reached the peak of its thrust and began to slowly descend.

Slade placed his hands at the base of the hero's waist, fingers pressing tightly against the skin, but not demanding faster or harder movement. It was a level of intimacy that both were unaccustomed to and certainly unprepared for; but the slow-paced passion felt right and, in a strange sense, enriching. It was more than a fever of thirst and hunger, it was a basic human connection, so complicated and yet so divinely simple. For a brief moment in time, as Slade and Robin moved slowly together, they forgot their own motivations and became lost in the unity of their bodies.

* * *

"That's some pretty dangerous material," Batman said as he stepped into the storeroom, empty and broken bottles clinking underfoot.

The bot turned to him and let out a low and growling cackle. "You're a little late to stop me, Batman, and you came without backup… where _is_ that pretty little red-head you've been running around with?"

The hero's face was stoic, calculating his next move. The villain was a talker, he could tell. A conversationalist even, if prodded correctly. His voice was electronically altered, but the paint-job on his armor looked hand-crafted with thick dripping lines. This was a being who wanted to be seen and heard, not necessarily for what it _stood_ for, but for what it _really_ was. A monologue wasn't likely, so it was best if he kept the banter light but probing.

"She has the night off. Looks like you'll have to rely on me to entertain you."

"Really?" The android touted. "No little bird-boys going to pop in to say hello?"

"You haven't been to Gotham in a while, have you?"

"Neither has your sidekick. How is your defiant little Dickey, anyway?"

The words hit Batman like a splash of icy water. His gaze turned from calculating to deadly stoic. "What is it you're really after?"

"Why don't you ask the little bird to tell you?" the robot sniggered as it lifted one of the few remaining vials from the shelves and twirled it between its metal fingers.

"Are you after him?" Batman asked, coldly staring the man down. He tensed ever so slightly, prepared for the inevitable fight.

"After _him?_" The bot chortled, "Oh, Bruce, Bruce, Bruce… I'm far too busy looking after number one."

Batman didn't have the time to react before the vile of Xenothium was thrown to the ground, billowing up a flash of light and thick, rusty smoke. By the time it cleared, a large chunk of the wall and the robot were both gone from the room.

* * *

The air around them was growing hotter.

Robin gazed down at the villain; his melancholy smile had melted some time ago, leaving a slight quirk in the teen's lips as he studied Slade. The man had his back to the bed, hands caressing the toned sides of the hero as his body moved fluidly with each up and down push. Their voices were silent, reflected only in tiny little sounds that escaped them as they moved.

Robin dared a smirk at the tightness in Slade's jaw, which was faintly highlighted in the ambient glow of the room. He was building up for release, it seemed, and Robin was right along with him. He leaned back, placing his hands on the pair of thick muscled legs and rolled his hips as he moved, picking up just a tiny bit of speed.

"Close, are you?" Slade grunted, his grasp shifting as the hero moved.

"Yeah… Tell me when," Robin breathed. "Let's go together."

Slade let out a low sound and a smirk, watching the shadows shift across the teen's stomach and listening to the pace of his breath. He dared a glance at his watch when Robin tilted his head back and let out a long, hot blooded moan, but his gaze moved quickly back to the hero's body, taking in the beauty and transcendence of the light gliding over his skin.

"Aaangh!" The teen whimpered and wrapped a hand around the base of his cock, squeezing tightly. He flexed the muscles inside his body as well, milking the villain and delighting in the tight-jawed smirk that his actions produced. He could feel Slade's gaze upon him, watching as he bucked his hips slowly, slipping over the man's cock as he purposefully tightened and relaxed his body.

The lopsided smile on the villain's features deepened. His movements were not hurried, but very precise as he lifted the teen's body off his length and set it on his legs. Robin looked curiously at the man, his expression almost hurt before he felt his erection brush against Slade's and he figured out the man's intentions.

"Now," The villain spoke with a low, sex-rugged tone as his hand closed around both of their shafts and pumped gently. Robin exhaled with a sex-laden grin as he released the grip over his cock. A thick white line erupted from his tip and spattered over their groins in viscous puddles that dripped onto the sheets. Slade allowed his head to dip back as he came as well; groaning lightly when he heard Robin's gasps and hushed cries of passion.

* * *

"How many others?" Batman asked as he stood over the sheet-covered bodies.

"From what we can find, just one" the commissioner answered. We've tried to contact Wayne, but it seems like there's a big party at his mansion. Fool's probably drunk off his ass by now."

"Give me ten minutes before you send your men in," the Dark Knight said quietly. "I want another look at the containers."

"Gordon," The commissioner's radio crackled to life. "Got possible two-eleven in the Diamond District. Alarms going off like crazy."

"Be out of there in twenty." Gordon nodded to Batman before turning to his radio. "Ten-twenty-three. I'm heading over."

* * *

The room was quiet once again, the only indication of life coming from the gentle breathing of a sleeping hero and a slightly more awake villain. In the distance, there were sirens, faint and short-lived in the sky which was transforming into a muddled light blue.

Slade's eyes broke away from his wrist and he stirred as gently as he could. No doubt most of the party members were gone, but parties like _that_ always had stragglers too drunk to drive themselves home and there were plenty of the butler's guests who would be staying. Getting away from the mansion would be easy enough, getting away from Robin, however…

"You're leaving?" Dick asked just as Slade's foot touched the floor. The hero turned and stared at the man's back, watching the tenseness in his shoulders as he tried to make the right moves, say the right things.

"Yes," he answered soon enough. "The sun is coming up and I'm not certain I have the balls to saunter out of your room in broad daylight."

"I've seen your balls, Slade; and believe me, you have them." Robin gave a little smirk and tried to stretch, but quickly found that his body didn't want to join him.

"Looks like you're feeling better," the villain smiled lightly, pulling on his trousers.

"Yeah, mostly…" the teen breathed, sitting up to hug his knees.

"I was against it at first," Slade began as he slid a thin belt into place and buckled it, "but if you want to come with me, you can. My offer of working together still stands."

Robin shook his head lightly, resting his chin on his knees and giving a faint smile. "Thanks, but I've got to sort out some things before I leave Gotham."

"You intend to confront him about it?" Slade raised an eyebrow. "That's risky."

"I know."

The villain shrugged. "Do what you've got to do. I'll be in town for a bit longer if you want help beating the truth out of him."

"How generous," Robin chuckled, laying back against the bed and deciding to try and stretch again. His actions met with success and his lips curled upward as his body trembled slightly in the orgasmic mid-stretch rush of blood. He smirked as he saw the villain, who had obviously stopped dressing so that he could ogle the naked teen, quickly return to buttoning his shirt.

"You'll be alright then?" Slade asked as he pulled the necktie into place and began to tie it.

"Yeah," Robin answered. "About last night… thank you."

"No need to thank me," he straightened the tie against his neck. "I think we both got what we wanted."

"You could have gotten a lot more if you had pushed. I don't think I was in the right mind to deny you anything."

"Hmm. Perhaps I should have made some demands for information. I must be losing my edge."

Robin grinned lightly at the joke before his features became slightly more serious. "I mean it, though. Thank you."

"Oh, stop, you're making me blush," Slade deadpanned as he walked to the window, opening it and peering outside. "Mind turning on the scrambler for a bit?"

"Sure," the teen stood and walked to his bag, digging out the small device and fiddling with it. "I'll keep it on for five minutes. There's a downspout about three rooms over, might be difficult to get there in that suit, but it's a much friendlier track than jumping down."

"Much obliged," Slade turned back to give the teen a smirk. "Give me a call later and tell me how it went with the Bat."

"Yes, dear. Dinner will be ready at six," Robin said flatly as he crossed his arms over his chest; he was smiling, however, enjoying the sarcastic banter to the fullest extent. It was the perfect opposite of what they'd gone through just hours before. The teen still felt a twinge of guilt and need, but it felt smaller, more controllable. Maybe it was the booze wearing off, or perhaps it was because Slade had stayed with him, protected him from his own thoughts and memories. The man had shown him a great deal of kindness, a trait that he was often suspected to lack entirely. Robin would not forget what he saw.

"What? No goodbye kisses?" Slade mocked, carefully testing the waters.

"Sure, plant a wet one right _here_," Robin taunted back, motioning to his crotch.

"Oh, but what will the neighbors think?" The villain smirked. It was nice to have the little smart-ass up and running. Still, he would need to tread carefully during their next few encounters. Nothing had changed between them, at least not really, but Robin might not understand that yet.

"That I'm fucking the milkman when you leave," Robin quipped back.

"That old drunk?" Slade leaned out the window, his eyes locking on to the rainspout.

"Ugh. Please don't use the "D" word, or any variations of it. Please?"

"A little tender this morning, are we?" the villain cooed. "Drink a cup of pickle juice and plenty of water."

Robin made a gagging sound.

"Oh, cut the crap, you don't feel that badly."

"No, but pickle juice? I knew you were a sick man, but…"

Slade chuckled, dangling one foot over the side of the window and catching the ledge on the next. "Good luck, Grayson."

"I would say the same," Robin sighed, "but, I don't really know what you're up to, so…."

"Oh, you know me, same old working stiff," the man smirked before disappearing.

The hero listened to the faint sounds of the man as he moved, polished shoes lightly scraping against the stone ledges, before the man grabbed hold of the pipe and slid down with hardly any sound at all. He walked to his window and watched as Slade made his way across the grounds, not really waltzing to the exit but nothing close to running for it. Robin laughed softly at the nonchalant feeling of it all. When Slade made it to the hedge safely, he turned and gave the hero a small wave before departing from view.

Robin sighed and turned back to his room, noting the few puddles of evidence left by their activities. Laundry could wait, a cold shower was needed first. He walked into the bathroom, flicking on the lights only to look instantly to the blood-dirtied cloth left carelessly on the countertop. He wasn't sure if he should smile or frown at it. He picked it up and turned it lightly in his hands. There it was, that was really all there was left of their round of rough sex… except for the memories and the scars on his back.

He turned his back to the mirror, twirling his head as far as he could to get a good look at the lashes left by the man… only they were hardly there at all… He frowned and twisted his arm behind him, fingers smoothing clumsily over slightly welted skin and finding that there was no trace of the wounds. He felt again, craning his neck and searching for the source of the blood. It took him a moment to realize that he wouldn't find it.

He let out a breathy chuckle. "That bastard cut his fingers and bled on the cloth…. Son of a…" He closed his eyes and laughed through his nose, recounting the previous night and everything that Slade could have manipulated to make it look as though he was being rougher than he actually was. Certainly, they had taken things farther than before, but Slade must have held back a great deal. After all, the man was a killer, if he wanted to torture someone, he definitely knew how to. Robin smiled, eyes watching softly as set the cloth on the counter, but soon his expression melted to a frown.

He did not like the feeling inside him. It was warm… too warm. It almost felt like burning. And it was painfully soft as well. He bit his lip and closed his eyes, trying to will away the sentiments that welled up in his brain. The trust he felt with Slade was misguided; and although he _knew_ it, he couldn't seem to make himself _feel_ it.

Robin let out a long, tired sigh. So, he had trust issues with Slade. Ha. Add it to the list.

* * *

Having already cleaned up the mess in his room, emptied his laundry into one of the large machines that was busy washing table linens, and avoiding several guests who were wandering lazily about, Robin was able to sneak into the billionaire's private office and down into the belly of his hideout. The Batcave matched Robin's mood. Cold. Dark. Echoing. He frowned as he stood before the grand computer, fingers gnashing against keys as he entered into the database. He wanted everything to be a mistake. He wanted to prove himself wrong. He searched the database with the hope that he wouldn't find anything.

They were the same records they kept at the Tower… or at least… they were supposed to be.

Finding hidden files was actually a very easy task for Robin. Batman had been the one to teach him, and Slade had refined his skills during the brief _apprenticeship_. The passcode involved little more than a simple hack, something that was especially easy for the teen because he was able to use Barry Allen's access code… It was a low route to take, considering the man was dead, but not even a sliver of guilt entered his brain. Everything was open and easily accessible to anyone who knew where and how to look.

And there it was. The file of Slade Wilson.

_WILSON, SLADE JOSEPH: _

_ALIASES: LIETENANT COLONEL WILSON, UNITED STATES ARMY. DEATHSTROKE. DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR. SLADE. CASE, JUSTIN…_

The list went on, but Robin focused his attention to a picture of the man that followed the text. It wasn't a terribly good picture, but it was clear enough to tell that it was him, and that it was taken in the lobby of Wayne Industries. Robin's eyes narrowed. Had that been the very day that he and Slade had first met? Had Batman known for _that long_? Robin pressed on the keys, typing furiously as he accessed more information, more pictures, more betrayal.

It wasn't until he saw himself in the pictures that he lost it, smashing his fist into the screen with an angry cry.

"_My __**APPRENTICESHIP?**_" He screamed, sending long, creaking breaks though the screen. "_You were__** WATCHING**_**?** And you didn't _**DO ANYTHING?**_" he kicked the large chair across the room, sending it crashing against the table he used to occupy as a child.

A deadly calm flushed over his features, echoing the numbness inside his body. He returned to the broken screen, thankful that the cracks did not disrupt the picture too badly, and began searching through the data.

Just how much Batman knew had already been underestimated. He couldn't afford to make assumptions any longer. He had to _know_.

* * *

An hour's worth of searching through the files left Dick with peace of mind and a rock in his stomach. Batman didn't know about their relationship. But he _did_ know about a good many other things. Slade's hideouts, for example, were not nearly as secret as the man liked to think. There were little to no visual evidence of what they looked like on the _inside_, that was a small comfort, but even the apartment where they had met so frequently was listed as a "Common traffic" area.

There were more records as well. Files from the government, notes regarding crimes and activities that the man was possibly involved in, detailed blue-prints of the man's robots, all things that Robin didn't hesitate to download to his communicator until the thing finally beeped, indicating that it had run out of storage space.

"A whole disk worth of information, Bruce…" He hissed quietly. "So glad I made the choice to work with you again…"

He laughed through his nose with an angry sort of breath as he went deeper into the records, noticing a trend in the notes left by the Dark Knight. Batman was suspicious of Slade's latest activities, particularly the cases regarding the Slade-bots. Robin found his own notes in there, transferred over from the tower, but now flooding with the Batman's notes on the side, comments about the likelihood that the crimes were Slade's work, or perhaps an outside criminal.

The Xenothium explosion and all items from the Red X suit were called into question, and there were notes from the day before, suggesting that Bruce planned to relocate the Xenothium located at Wayne-Tech to the League's Watch-Tower. The belt was scheduled for screening that afternoon.

"Why wait?" Robin muttered, standing from the console and making his way over to the storage locker before punching in the code. There was no hesitation this time as he plucked the encased Xenothium belt from the shelf and brought it with him, ignoring the sound of the security system noting that evidence was being removed from storage.

He set the white box on the table, twisting the dials until the lock clicked and the lid swung open. Robin lifted the belt inside the clear case, and calmly smashed the container against the floor. Shards of glass-like material flew around his shoes, but were ignored completely as the hero bent down and retrieved the belt. He turned it over in his hands, eyes narrowing as he walked to the scanner and set it under the lens and sensors.

With the press of a few simple buttons, the screen lit up._ ITEM NUMBER X0523- XENOTHIUM -POWERED BELT._ The computer pulled up the documents already on file, but the teen ignored them in favor of the composition report, which began the scanner automatically. The process took longer than Cyborg's work, but soon the machine chimed and the screen lit up with positive results for Xenothium traces.

"Positive, huh?" Dick pulled the belt from the sensors and sneered. "Glad to know something from Gotham isn't a fake…"

* * *

His bag was easy enough to pack, just a matter of shoving clothes and a toiletry bag back inside what had once been a tidy cloth container. Without Alfred's book inside, there was plenty of room for the Xenothium belt, which had set off quite a few alarms within the Batcave as he began to leave with it. Were it not for his superior agility, and a bit of knowledge as to where and when the cave would seal itself off, he would have been shut in. In reality, it was a bit of a surprise that he wasn't caught in the traps. He'd tried it multiple times in his youth and never once met with success.

"Master Dick!" Alfred appeared at his bedroom door, just as he zipped his bag shut and slung it over his shoulder. "There has been-"

"An intruder? I know," the teen pushed past the man and began walking down the hallway. "Tell Bruce I left him a message in the cave."

"What? What do you mean?" The butler looked confused and for the first time in ages, a bit frazzled. His tie was slightly crooked, a sure sign that he hadn't taken the time for his usual routine to prepare him for the day and the fact that his eyes were a tad blood-shot and his expression bordered on nauseous only added to the point that Alfred Pennywort was not at the top of his game.

"It means I'm leaving. Happy Birthday. It's been fun," the teen called behind him, not willing to accept the man's expression of kindness and worry. Alfred knew everything that went on in the mansion, which meant that he had known about Slade as well.

"Got your message," Bruce said as he rounded the corner, adjusting a cufflink to the suit that smelled lightly of earth. He must have come straight from the cave only moments after Robin had left it, finding Slade's data glowing behind a broken screen. "We should talk."

"No, we _should_ _have_ talked," Dick corrected viciously, glaring at the man and trying to decide if he should go around him, _through_ him, or just turn the other way. "I think it's a little too late for it now."

"What message?" Alfred raised a hand to his head, rubbing the side as if trying to iron out a stubborn wrinkle. "What's going on?"

"I found out about Slade Wilson," Robin said quietly, still glaring at his mentor, eyes narrow and volatile.

"Oh, dear…" Alfred breathed quietly, freezing on the spot and moving his weary eyes back and forth between the two heroes. "Master Dick, I-"

"Save it, Al," Robin growled, suspicions confirmed that the butler was in the know. "I don't want _explanations_, or _excuses_. I just want to _leave_."

"I understand," Bruce said quietly, making eye contact with the butler as Robin passed him by. "But you're not leaving with that belt."

"Watch me," Dick hissed brazenly. He sneered when a heavy hand landed on his bag and jerked it back.

"I _said_ you're not leaving with that belt."

"And I said _watch me_."

The kick was easy enough for Bruce to dodge, as was the jab that followed it. Somewhere in the background, Alfred let out a cry of surprise, stumbling backwards into a vase that crashed to the floor, right as the teen delivered a solid left-hook to the Dark Knight's cheek.

"Stop this, this instant!" the butler shouted, watching in terror as the two dragged each other to the floor and continued their scuffle. "Masters Dick and Bruce! _Stop!_"

Dick growled as his arms and legs wrapped around the man from behind, forcing the older hero's neck into the crux of his arm and squeezing hard. Bruce let out his own strangled growl and threw himself against the ground, ramming the teen against the floor with each pass. He tossed his head back, smashing the back of his head into the teen's nose.

"You're choking him!" Alfred cried out as the two struggled.

"Don't make me break it," Dick whispered into his guardian's ears, spraying tiny little droplets of blood that dripped down from his nose. His grip on the man's neck tightened, "I don't know that I can stop myself right now."

"Master Dick!"

"Was…try-ing…pro-tec… you…." Bruce managed through the strangle-hold, his face turning an ugly shade.

"_I don't need your protection_."

"Enough!" Alfred rushed forward, his hands closing around Dick's wrist and pulling. "Let go!"

The teen seemed to ponder for a moment, eyes darting between the butler's expression and his interfering hands. His blue eyes narrowed before he finally let go and forced the two bodies away, knocking the butler to the ground in the process. Bruce gasped and shot out a hand that the teen promptly crushed underfoot.

"Do _not_ make me do that again," he glared, grinding the sole hard against the man's skin.

Batman did not retaliate as the teen picked up his bag and left the mansion.

* * *

Dick took a deep breath and rubbed the dry blood away from his nose, doing a rather poor job of cleaning as it did little more than smear it. He glared as he leaned over the side of the building and held his breath at the hundreds of feet that separated him from the ground. Some air to clear his head, he'd told himself.

He wasn't entirely sure how he got there. He vaguely remembered taking a bike from the garage… swerving between lanes of traffic… looking at the building he was currently situated on… climbing it was a bit of a blur, the scaffolding was rickety… He remembered thinking that it must be under construction… No one was there to watch him… to see if he would fall.

He closed his eyes and contemplated jumping off, just for shits and giggles, mostly to see if he could grab a secure handle in time. It was the stupid, restless idea of an angry mind, which is precisely what made it so appealing. The hero pushed aside the stupid thoughts, knowing that he had to calm himself down. He wasn't thinking rationally. Dick forced himself to sit, legs dangling over the side before he took in a long, steady breath.

"What next?" he said to himself, a hand falling on his bag and the belt inside it.

Only silence answered him, so he waited, breathing in the thin and dirty air of the city he used to call his own. A cold burst of wind rattled the scaffolding and Dick frowned. What next, indeed.

An hour, or two, or three, or maybe only a few minutes might have passed before the sound of creaking wood and metal interrupted the teen's both vacant and chaotic mindset.

He turned just in time to see a man crawl up from the other side. For a split second, the teen felt his heart race, thinking Slade had come to him. That thought was dashed the moment that he studied the form closely. It _could_ have been Slade, the build and the movements were very similar, not to mention the shape and wear of the armor, but Robin somethow knew that it _wasn't him_.

The second the man on the other side stood taller, Robin felt his heart beat faster. He jumped to his feet, arms in a defensive stance as his widened eyes stared the painted faceplate. "You…" he whispered, taking in the sight of what was certainly once a Slade bot.

The bot cocked its head to the side, studying the teen for a brief moment as if it was deciding its next move, struggling through it, apparently. The skull painted over the faceplate looked even more menacing than ever before, almost sickly with the thick and dripping lines of paint and jagged streaks that formed a fallen cross over his right eye.

"Red.. Red X?" the hero breathed.

The bot shook its head just slightly, a move almost akin to a human twitch before it let out a mechanical chuckle of a sigh.

"Long time no see, kid. And please… call me ParadoX."

* * *

A/N: Remember when you guys were all thinking that the villain was Red X? Congrats, you were right! Well... kind of ^,~. You'll learn more in the next chapter. Big thanks to LindenMae and Kayz0rBeam for their help in this chapter!

Until next time, stay lovely, my loves!


	25. Chapter 25

**Before we begin, here is a brief review of THE AGREEMENT(s) between Slade and Robin:**

Rule #1: Any information, such as weaknesses and identities, cannot be used for personal advantage. That includes the sale of information to third parties.

-Amendment: When the greater good is clearly on the line, the rules can be bent while the rest of the contract stays in place.

Rule #2: The fact that they are sleeping together remains a secret.

Rule #3: In exchange for Slade being allowed to kill "whoever is behind this," Slade is never allowed to kill a member of the Titans or Batman.

-Loophole: Slade may be allowed to kill "whoever is behind this," but Robin is allowed to try and stop him.

-The Bet: There is a wager on the loophole. Whoever wins (i.e., kills or prevents murder of "whoever is behind this) gets to be the other's Master for one night (for  
personal gratification only, no crime or hero work).

**A message from Kuro:**

**Long Version:**  
Apologizing for the lateness of this chapter seems a little cavalier, but in all seriousness, I would like to apologize to everyone that waited on this—especially those who contacted me with questions—and _really_ especially to those who I told the chapter would be out sooner than it was. I had a pretty hard run last year. There were lots of changes in my life, and I had to face some mean realities that hit a lot harder than I expected. Life is still crazy on my end, but I'm very glad to be back and will keep writing until Sadomasochism reaches its climaxes and ends. Hah. Sex puns. Big thanks to Kayz0rbeam and Wynja for their behind the scenes help, and especially to LindenMae for betaing. I would be lost without you all. Okay, now time for smut (there is only a little and it's at the end, sorry!).

**Short version:**  
Sorry I didn't publish for so long. Many feels were had while I was gone. Happy I'm back. Thank you special friends. Skip to the end for smut :D.

**Chapter 25**

* * *

"Mr. Wayne, I'm pleased to see you again. Unfortunately, it seems our meeting came too late?"

"Yes, your tip was… very specific. I should have taken faster action. Ah, well, water under the bridge." Bruce Wayne stared back at the man, his cheek throbbing under a layer of makeup that covered the bruise left by his ward. "The police have been notified. I'm confident they'll find the chemicals before we lose too much revenue."

"And before anyone is hurt." Wilson smiled back. Both men were playing their roles perfectly, Bruce Wayne, the pretentious douche-bag businessman, and Slade Wilson, the vaguely ethical shark-toothed salesman. Both men knew the truth behind their masks, but would do nothing to speak it. There was a thin veil of understanding in each exchange between them, but it was all a game that both men played flawlessly.

"Of course. Wayne Enterprises strives to protect the public from any harm." Bruce shrugged carelessly. You mentioned before that your company was attacked under similar conditions. Xenothium, was it?"

"Among other things. I take it that's all that was missing from your plant, then?"

"I prefer to keep the finer details confidential," the businessman remained almost stoic, if not for the haughty expression.

"A trait we normally have in common, Wayne," Wilson smiled, "but under the current circumstances, I think we might need to reconsider. The man behind this is dangerous and unpredictable."

"Man?" Bruce's eyes narrowed for the tiniest of moments, just enough for Slade to catch before the expression disappeared completely behind a vaguely interested gaze. "I take it you know who the culprit is?"

"I have my suspicions, but I'm not in a position to do anything about it."

"And I am?" Bruce leaned back in his chair.

"You were. We're two steps behind this bastard now. He's got the Xenothium and a considerable amount of weaponry at his command."

"I assume that was _among the other things_ missing from your storage."

"You would be correct. Both our commodities have taken a substantial hit, and I fear this is just the beginning." Wilson's brown eyes narrowed slightly as he pulled a small flat screen from his briefcase, turning it on and handing it to the billionaire. "I believe the perpetrator is a thief, formerly located in Jump. He has an affinity for technology, but his knowledge of programming is menial. He stole a small arsenal of un-manned drones, all equipped with A.I. and deadly weapons, some more dangerous than others." He motioned to the screen in the man's hands, "These are pictures of the stolen products. It has recently come to my attention that they were used against your company in several raids of your offices in Jump." _Not to mention against his ward for the last several months…_

"And now in Gotham," Wayne narrowed his eyes, scanning through the pictures until he came across a hauntingly familiar face. "And this?"

Slade looked at the picture of his creation, covered with sloppy paint as it fled. The villain had the good fortune of bumping into the bot while surveying Wayne-Tech for possible areas of weakness. The fight that followed was ruthless and was especially confirmative of the villain's suspicions, which he chose not to fully disclose to The Bat.

"The most powerful of the stolen pieces. These robots were designed to act as a human battalion- mercenaries for hire, but without the risk of casualty. Artificial intelligence can only do so much before it becomes a burden in the battlefield. Like any good soldier, they need direction, a _leader._"

"This robot?" Wayne studied the photo.

"Yes. The robot in the photograph acts as a sort of processor for all drones. It determines action based on the input from every other active drone then sends commands, which all drones are compelled to follow. It is the most heavily armed device, practically indestructible."

"How practically?"

"As you have likely determined, it is powered by Xenothium. At times, the robot can become intangible."

"So what can be done about it now?"

"Xenothium during intangibility is highly _volatile_. If we can cause a chain reaction within the power-core of the robot, there is a chance we can de-activate it _and_ all the drones vicariously, shutting down the problem long enough for us to capture a drone and trace its homing signal. The drones have a self-destruct fail-safe built into their shells, which has prevented any attempt to capture and trace the signal thus far."

"And how do you propose we activate the Xenothium?"

"I will activate it during an altercation. We simply need to set it off… Something I can do quite easily, with the right tools."

"And my part in this?"

"An informant has told me Wayne Technologies was developing a stabilizer for Xenothium, but it has so far been unsuccessful," Wilson smirked at the man's poker face. "Although some tests have created something quite _explosive_ when put in contact with the right elements, the experiment your company dubbed _Nihilithium_ was by far the most interesting… Rather than causing _stabilization_ or _combustion_ of the Xenothium, it simply implodes into _nothing_, taking anything saturated in the element with it. _Nothing_ left."

"That's a large tip you gathered. I'd love to know who told you that."

"I've already shown many cards in my hand, Wayne. As professionals, I'm sure you understand the need to keep a few hidden in the deck."

"Of course... Unfortunately, Mr. Wilson, I don't intend to help you in your endeavor. It's true that my company has suffered some losses, but I'm not one for under-the-table dealings and unauthorized data use. Best leave this to the police, though it would please me to know that they are fully aware of the situation. I have the commissioner's contact information, if you like?"

"I have it already," Wilson spoke, his teeth gritted before he pried them apart with a salesman's smile. "I suppose there's no convincing you, is there Wayne? A pity. It would have been relatively easy to destroy the robot with your help. Destroying that one is all we need, no doubt it would save countless lives in the process. I suppose it's your conscience that will bear it, not mine… What a shame you are to your father's legacy…"

Bruce's eyes turned cold and blank. "Good day, Mr. Wilson."

Slade placed his hat on his head and tipped it ruefully as he left, the door closing deftly behind him as he swung his briefcase slightly with each step. He held back his smile as he entered the lift, knowing there were cameras watching. With any luck, Batman would destroy the ParadoX for him. He'd set the vigilante up with the information he needed to start the ball rolling, and even if the Dark Knight found out the _truth_ about the robot, his interference would probably keep Robin busy. It was a dirty trick for certain, but it wasn't in conflict with the contract, not when it had been his plan all along.

* * *

"Red… ParadoX, Robin said slowly, a deadly calm over his features because he realized that, despite the absence of his mask, the thief knew who he was. "What happened to you?"

"We don't have much time. And I need to stay out of sight. Follow-"

"We can talk here," the hero said defiantly. "I'm not following you anywhere."

"Then I'll be blunt. I need your help, Kid. I need the suit back." The robot moved closer, but stopped when Robin held up a hand.

"Playing with Slade's robots isn't enough for you anymore?" he quipped.

"I'm not playing. Please, Robin. Richard," he moved closer but stopped when he noticed the teen's muscles tensing for attack. "The Xenothium suit… It… I tried to phase, to transport myself, but suddenly I was gone. I didn't phase back. It's like I jumped into the air and shattered into a billion pieces, there was nothing left to grab onto, I just… scattered."

"We found the suit," Robin said slowly. "It was left in an alleyway with stolen merchandise. We thought… We thought you just left it there."

"I tried to grab onto it, but there wasn't enough Xenothium left. I just fragmented- lost myself… my body… my mind… I can remember tiny bits of consciousness, flickered here and there. Once I was inside the mask- at the tower, I think. I recognized the smell. When I find a large enough supply of Xenothium, I'm able to _exist_ inside it. It's like all the little pieces flock to it like moths dancing around light bulbs." Hardly able to maintain control, he choked back a low, predatory sigh, the kind Slade would make when backed into a corner before he let lose all hell.

"You can only live… _exist_ inside Xenothium," Robin breathed carefully, understanding the terrible fate that had befallen the thief. He knew the element was highly unstable, prone to explode and melt and, worse of all, just _vanish_. "There wasn't enough Xenothium to power a full jump. Your body can't return to a physical state… And when you found the mask, you tried to phase through the box. That explains the foam and the negative scan. You used up all the Xenothium when you tried to jump that last time."

"Right. I can exist on some level… like a ghost wandering through puddles. The worst was a large container. Just a long tube storing the element. I fed off it for years… unable to move, or speak, or dream… just _endure_. But I couldn't leave it. If I had, I would have disappeared again. It's a terrifying feeling. Worse than death… But then Slade bought the container, moved it into one of his store houses… and I found this…" The Paradox's voice became deeper, almost a cruel hiss, as he lifted a fist and appeared to breathe, the human-like form mimicking the appearance of muscles flexing under armor. "Slade's supply, an army of robots with enough Xenothium to allow me to hold something akin to a human shape… But integration was a problem. Slades' commands left within the registry bank were outdated, but compulsory. When I bonded to this machine, it _bonded back_, and it was like losing myself all over again. I fed off commands left in the programming. I tried to delete them, but whenever I did, I started losing bits of my memory… bits of _myself_… like scattering all over again. I soon discovered that I couldn't tell the difference between the programming and my own thoughts. Artificial commands became as real and valuable as my own free will. Even now, I struggle to determine what thoughts are mine… I suppose they are all mine at this point."

"Is that why you were spying on me?" The teen asked carefully, remembering the first night Slade had chained him… _touched_ him. Slade's voice flooded his brain in a vivid memory: _I've been watching you much more closely these past few years. _Robin should have known it wasn't a half-assed statement. Not when it came from Slade.

"I can't really say. We both had reason enough to monitor you. But my obsession with finding you… studying you… I can't remember Red X doing that. He- no, _I_-" The robot held its head higher, looking the hero straight in the eye. "Please, Robin. I can't live like this anymore. _This_ isn't _living_. I just want my body back. I'll give you anything. Everything.

"Getting your body back might not be that simple," Robin gave a genuinely sympathetic expression. "Even if it returns with the suit, it might not be able to support life."

"Slade offered to kill me," the robot gave a chuckle, pausing at the reaction as it struggled to determine if it was the work of compulsion or programming. "But I know better. I know how he thinks. _He's curious_. If I submitted to him, I might never escape this Hell. He knows that destroying this mechanical body won't kill me; I'll just be forced to find another supply. But he surely wants to know the _limits_ of this terrible error. Of course, now that I refused him, he might just kill me. He could trigger an implosion… Like the kind _Daddy Bats_' company was working on."

"Don't call him that."

Paradox straightened, pausing before he shook his head slightly. "Sorry."

Robin nodded, acknowledging the apology and moving on as quickly as possible. _Daddy Bats,_ he growled in his mind. "I'll do what I can, but it will take time."

The robot stiffened slightly and nodded. "Fine, but I need the belt. Even if it's just to keep, to hold on to until you're ready. I _need_ it."

Robin grabbed the backpack and shook his head. "That's not going to happen, ParadoX. I'll see that you get all the help you need, but it will be on my terms."

For a moment, both figures tensed, looking ready to attack, before ParadoX chuckled and shook his head slowly. "I suppose it's wise not to trust me. I'm half Slade up here, after all." He tapped the side of the helmet and gave the teen a sideways look. "Though… It would be better if you didn't trust him, either… He's planning something, Kid. Something big."

Robin's eyes narrowed as they flickered up and down his adversary. "What is it?"

"I won't tell you… I'm not sure if it's Slade's programming, or just an attempt to gain some leverage as I ask for help… I'm sure Red X would tell you, though…"

"Cryptic hints and vague promises at the price of cooperation," Robin frowned. "Just like Slade… You talk like he does, too…"

"I'd like to think there is at least a little of me in it, too," ParadoX laughed Slade's dark chuckle and growled. "I don't like the idea that Red X is already gone."

Robin pulled his communicator from his bag, keeping a close eye on the robot as he did so.

"Take this with you," he said as he pulled a small device from the communicator and tossed it over. "It will plug into the audio jack of any cell phone and give you a direct line to me, or any of the Titans. Keep in mind that we're able to track you if and when you activate it. I'm going to ask for Titan assistance with this, but I would appreciate it if you limited your contact to me until I give you the signal. After Madam Rouge, the system was redesigned to shut down at any indication of intelligence breach."

"Of course. And Robin, I'm certain that I don't need to say this, but your secrets… _all of them_… I'll keep them with me in exchange for protection from Slade. He knows that I know too much and there is little doubt he'll stop me by _any means necessary._"

The teen's jaw tightened and he nodded cautiously to each statement. At the least, he knew both Slade and Red X had boundaries. Slade always honored his word and Red never left a debt unpaid. He would have to run on that. There wasn't anything else to run with.

"Thank you," ParadoX said in a low, humbled voice, extending his arm for a handshake.

Robin eyed it cautiously before extending his own and shaking the bot's hand. Definitely a little too much like Slade for his tastes…

* * *

Richard Grayson smiled cordially to the security guard as he placed his backpack on the moving conveyer belt. His more _sensitive_ items were already secure in a lined pocket, cloaking the guards from seeing it with the x-ray and from finding it during any hand-search. It had been a gift from Alfred when he first moved away; a little token that enabled him to come back for a quick visit. It also allowed him to leave in a similar fashion.

"Mr. Grayson," the guard nodded to him, his smile barely contained because it was rare to see one of Gotham's royals slumming it on an airline instead of a private jet.

It was a quick and easy go-through, and soon the teen was waiting comfortably for his flight to D.C. and the Hall of Justice. ParadoX had agreed to stay hidden while the hero gathered his team and the rest of the Red X suit. He'd contacted Raven first, briefing her on the situation and making arrangements for their stay in Steel City, which was close enough to Gotham, and convenient enough to play up as a publicity visit. Then he made an important call to Bumble Bee, asking for covert transport and sanctuary of ParadoX to the Titans East Tower. Reluctantly, she agreed, asking for a full day to prep a suitable holding space, which Robin himself had warned they would need. Next came the hard part, which was collecting the suit from the Hall of Justice. Harder still were the tasks that followed…

The buzzing from his pocket derailed his train of thought and sent him down a darker path as he answered through a remote earpiece, "Hello."

"Grayson," Slade paused when he overheard a routine security announcement booming over the intercom system. "Taking a trip, I see?"

"I just _had_ to get out of Gotham for a while. Bruce and I had a disagreement over _business practices_." He spoke with every bit of pretention that Bruce Wayne did, causing a light curling of the villain's lip. To Robin, it was a tactical move. The press lived everywhere in Gotham, and it was little secret to him that the man sitting in the row across from him was a reporter for the Gotham Gossip. This would all be in the digital blog within the hour, and in tabloid magazines soon after, but what did he really care? Richard Grayson, ward of Bruce Wayne, was growing up, but still a bit spoiled. It explained his trip as a whim of a boy with too much money and too little patience for his business savvy _daddy_.

"Didn't go so well, hmm? At least he doesn't have you chained up in his secret lair, or whatever it is… I'd advise you to be careful, however, and remind you that our _friends_ are still out there, but I don't think that will do much good, will it?"

"Never does," the teen sighed, adjusting his sunglasses so that the reporter couldn't see him rolling his eyes. The tabloid-pusher was so pathetically obvious as he held phone, pretending to read an article, but very clearly eavesdropping.

"Returning to Jump, or?"

"Yeah," Robin lied nonchalantly. "Want to meet me there?"

"Unfortunately, I still have some matters to attend to here. Relocating evil lairs and death traps is really quite a chore."

"Poor you," Richard apathetically pouted, knowing full well that the man was hoping to track down ParadoX. Fortunately, the thief's temporary hideout was fortified to block Xenothium tracers. Unless Slade had an ace in the hole, it would be enough until the rest of the Titans could help. "Any other plans while you're in Gotham?"

"Ordering some new furniture. Saw a bed in a catalogue that I'd love to fuck you on." Slade's tone darkened and the teen felt a tightening in his throat, among other places. "Any chance I can convince you to stay? They are located in Gotham and have promised overnight delivery."

"Thanks, but I've already made plans with friends." He picked at some imaginary dirt under his nails while the reporter snapped pictures like crazy with his phone. He at least had the decency to mute the shutter sound effects, but the sudden change in how he held his phone was a dead giveaway.

"Just as well, I'm ordering one for an apartment in Jump."

"About that. Be careful with your investments. Not all neighborhoods are as safe as they seem."

"Hmm, Bats has me in his radar? Not too closely, I assume, or you would be panicking."

"Let's err on the side of caution, shall we? He likes to keep a close watch on prime real estate locations. Unless you want him dropping in to borrow sugar, be careful where you settle in."

"Of course," the villain purred.

"Anyway, I'm going to grab a bite before my plane gets here. We'll talk later."

"Until next time, then."

Robin frowned as he removed the earpiece, finally making eye contact with the reporter's phone. "Want me to pick my nose, or something? Give you a really terrible picture to publish?"

He was only being sarcastic, of course, and he thought it did the trick because the man looked rather sheepish… at least until he had the balls to reply "_Oh, would you?_"

Indeed, some things in Gotham never changed.

* * *

"I don't like it," Cyborg spoke on a private line to Raven as he piloted the T-Ship.

The pale girl lifted her eyes from a dark colored book as clouds roared by them. "Like what?"

"This whole thing… Red X… Slade… Robin… Something seems fishy… I mean… is it just me? It feels like our leader has been holdin' out on us… wouldn't be the first time."

"It's possible," she replied, eyes drifting back down to the book. "But Robin has always been secretive, for better or worse. He always plays things close to the chest."

"You'd think, after all this time, he'd actually gain some _trust_ in us."

"He does," she turned the page of her book, "More than you know. But _you_ not trusting _him_ isn't going to help the situation. It just pushes him further away. He needs cooperation, understanding… If you want answers with Robin, then you just need to be patient."

"Duuuuuuudes," Beast Boy's voice echoed in their individual pods, actually managing to break Raven's attention from her book. "Watcha' talking about? You look all serious and stuff!"

"Meat," Cyborg fired back. "When we get there, I want a big, juicy, dripping steak."

"Eww, gross, nevermind!" The line went dead and Beast Boy leaned back in his chair, making gagging faces at Raven, who chose to ignore it.

"Well played," the empath responded casually, eyes still roaming over her pages.

"Not the first time I've had to keep BB from sticking his nose in," Cyborg smirked and then frowned. "I'd… appreciate it if you kept my doubts between us."

"Secret's safe with me."

* * *

Bruce walked into the Batcave with a heavy heart and throbbing cheek. Alfred had already cleaned the mess of broken glass and reset the security traps, leaving a tray with a cold compress on the computer console, which had yet to be replaced. He gave a heavy sigh and sunk down into his chair, gazing at the broken screen. His intentions had always been pure, but even the best intentions can have dire consequences, something he knew all too well.

At the heart of his anger, his disappointment, was a terrible feeling of guilt because he knew he'd made the wrong decisions. When his sidekick first left Gotham, Bruce wanted to keep his distance, give the teen a chance to spread his wings. Dick was skilled and had a relatively cool head about him, but he got in too deep with Slade. He was too curious, too single-minded. The Dark Knight should have seen it and put a stop to it from the start, but he'd underestimated the mercenary… and his protégé. It wasn't until after Robin's apprenticeship that Batman began to actively collect and archive information about the villain into his database. He'd hoped that the events around his ward's enslavement would be enough to quell the sidekick's obsession, and it seemed to, at first. The hero became more determined but less curious in his battles against Slade… up until the man's death, and the subsequent nightmares… Then there was the _descent into hell_, as Robin had called it, where he and the man spoke, and the hero finally gained the upper hand, saw himself and his mission as superior to Slade. It was perhaps his biggest victory against the man. Bruce had hoped that would finally end it, and the teen would no longer have the drive to pursue the villain so obsessively.

Following the horrific incident with Trigon, Slade simply vanished. It was little secret that they'd all hoped he was gone for good, but Batman kept his ear to the ground, cautious but distant. He didn't interfere right away when Slade reappeared in Jump- yet another mistake. But with Slade back in the game, Robin was obsessed as ever and Batman didn't want to give the teen more ammo, anything that could lead him down that darkened path again. The Dark Knight vowed not to underestimate the villain a second time, and watched carefully for a pattern in his crimes. He recognized the new player right away by the sudden change in targets; it was obvious Slade had sold or somehow _misplaced_ some merchandise. Eventually, all signs pointed to Red X, a theory that Slade Wilson was gracious enough to confirm during their meeting. It was likely the banded thief had known their identities all along, but the sudden upfront teasing about it… that was disturbing…

"No word from Master Dick," Alfred stated quite sadly as he entered the cave.

"I doubt he'll want to speak to us now. He's on his way to Washington," Bruce heaved a dark sigh, resting his elbows on the console and his forehead in his hands. "He's after the rest of the Red X suit."

"He's putting the pieces together for himself," Alfred nodded, placing a tray with a hot cup of coffee and a few biscuits on the consul before turning his back to leave. "Perhaps it's for the best..."

"Alfred I-"

"I thought it was the right decision, too," the butler said plainly, his back still turned. "But bringing up a young man, especially in the midst of chaos and tragedy, is a tricky sport. Children grow and change into the people they were meant to become, regardless of what we have to say about it… I speak from years of experience, Master Wayne. How do you think I felt when you first donned that cowl? And every night after?" He turned, finally, but the Dark Knight kept his head down. "We do what we feel is right, but we must accept that we can never always do what _is_ right… Why do you think you gave in? Batman never yields, yet you stood down when the moment came. You knew what was right then, too."

"You think I lost on purpose?" He glanced up from his hands, his fingers laced together in bitter despair.

"Don't _you?_" Alfred managed a smile, one in the long line of forced expressions.

"I don't know… I've replayed it in my mind over and over again. In the end, I just decided I was getting old."

"No, sir, I believe that's my job." Alfred gave a gentle smile. "I also believe that Bruce Wayne and Batman know how they can address their grievous mistakes and help a troubled young man find his way back from anger and mistrust."

Bruce looked to the broken screen. "I need to make a call to The League."

"Very good sir. I'll be upstairs with the guests, should you need me."

* * *

It was snowing when Robin stepped outside the airport with his backpack slung over his shoulder. The air felt clean, and somehow warmer than Gotham, despite the slow but heavy flakes snow that danced around him and played on his lashes. The clouds in the sky had an eerie glow about them, painting DC in the subdued colors of a winter sunset.

"Hey," a familiar voice called softly to his left, followed by a soft flurry of snowflakes from the latent wind stream.

Dick jerked his head to the side, blue eyes glaring at Wally, who was standing next to a black car, obviously owned by a local subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises.

"I was asked me to pick you up. _Don't give me that look_. I'm here to help you." He glanced at the reporter, who had unfortunately accompanied Richard Grayson on his wayward journey, snapping pictures when he saw fit. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

"I think I'll take a cab, thanks."

"Fine," he shrugged, moving back to the driver's seat. "I'll just see you there, then… You need my help to get through security, anyway."

The black haired teen glanced at the reporter, who had already pulled out his camera for more photos, gave a frown and a vicious glare before he relented. The redhead didn't say anything as Dick slumped against the bucket seat and slammed the door shut.

They drove in silence through the busy streets until Wally finally broke it. "Batman has asked The League to grant you access to The Hall's archive. He says you're retrieving the Red-X suit… Please just tell me that you aren't going to wear it again…"

"It's not your concern," Dick replied in a clipped tone.

"There isn't enough Xenothium to power it, you know… From what I hear, someone destroyed the supply at Wayne Tech… And the rest is kept in the Watch Tower, which you _haven't_ been granted access to." The driver frowned at his passenger's silence. "Yeah. That's not helping is it? Well, I might as well get this out in the open now… I'm sorry about lying to you… I think Bats is, too. He told The League about Slade… well, a few years ago. After the nano-probes… I just found out when he started causing trouble again…"

"Good to know that joining The League hasn't changed your loyalties, Wally," The teen said sarcastically.

"It was a _League decision_ not to tell the Titans. Apparently, Batman said it was your battle and they- _we_ respected that."

"_Batman_ is a _liar_," Dick glared, a hand cupping his pocket when Slade's communicator began to vibrate yet again. It had buzzed a few times since he landed, but he would need to deal with that later. "The Titans and the League are supposed to work _together_. I don't care _why_ he _said_ he did it. Same goes for _you_."

"I did it because he asked. He's my teammate and I trusted him… Whatever his reasoning was, _you know_ that he did it for you. He cares about you. I hope that's something you'll remember."

"Oh, I won't forget anytime soon," he growled. "And I hope you won't forget what your complacency created."

"No, I guess not… But for what it's worth, I am sorry…"

"Yeah… me too." Dick frowned as cold words faded into icy silence.

He was angry, furious at the lies and the mistrust that were forced at him from all directions. He certainly didn't expect it from Wally… his former teammate and former friend… His eyes softened briefly at the thought. Wally was a good man, a good Titan… and a good friend. He was light and funny and loyal beyond reason. He had a knack for working _with_ people, including villains. Hell, he'd charmed Jinx right out of the Brotherhood's arms. It shouldn't have come as any surprise that he obeyed Batman's wishes without question. He'd done the same for Robin when the teen refused to give up his secret identity to the Titans, standing up for him when others called his secrecy a betrayal… Wally had done a lot for him, expecting nothing in return… but was that enough to forgive a cruel secret between friends?

They navigated the roads, eventually reaching a secret entrance to the Hall of Justice, courtesy of an underground tunnel and Wally's pass codes. Dick's pocket continued to ring like mad, but the teen ignored it and snuck a hand into his pocket to finally turn it off. Slade was good at waiting, he could handle it.

They were welcomed by a tall winged man when they reached the end of the tunnel. Dick knew well enough that members took turns guarding various gateways, and apparently it was Hawkman's turn at The Hall's underground entrance.

"Welcome," he said in a deep voice when they exited the car. "We've been told to expect you. Batman has urged us to let you through without question, but other members have decided that your unapproved acquisition of the Xenothium belt is cause for concern. A meeting will be held early tomorrow for the purpose of negotiating the release of any more artifacts."

"I was promised compliance," Robin frowned, casting another glance at the redhead, who gave a genuinely flustered shrug and shake of the head. "And I don't appreciate the setback to my schedule."

"You are welcome to prepare for the meeting inside. However, your passage is restricted to level-one clearance areas only."

"And I _really_ don't appreciate _tourist_ level clearance," he growled at the golden mask.

"Then you're free to wait outside The Hall until the time of the meeting." Hawkman's hands tightened around his Mace, leather creaking against the handle as his piercing eyes glared from under his mask.

"Come on, Dick," Wally pleaded, his hand resting on the teen's shoulder. "I'll buy you a coffee. There's a great place just a few block from here."

"I'll wait inside," he said as he shrugged off the Flash's hand and glared at Hawkman's mask as he walked into the elevator. He pressed the button for the main lobby and the doors began to close with a soft groan, leaving the hero with the image of Wally frowning sadly.

Dick let out a long sigh through his nose, trying to shake off the anger that felt like acid in his gut. Perhaps Batman's influence had leaked into The League, poisoning the atmosphere with mistrust and suspicion. Had it always been that way? He frowned, remembering the first time he was allowed entrance into The Hall of Justice. It was certainly a different experience then… but he was also quite a different person back then. That's when he was just a sidekick, before he'd even heard of Slade…

"_Foreign body detected, lockdown activated_." A calm female voice rang from a speaker lodged in the corner and the elevator jolted to a halt.

"What?" he muttered darkly, pushing the Lobby floor button again and finding that all were glowing red, save the one with a telephone printed on it. He was about to press it when Wally's voice boomed through the speaker and his face appeared on a small built-in screen above the buttons.

"Dick? What happened?" he looked worried and genuinely confused.

"You tell me. Lockdown?" He glared at the tiny camera above the screen. "Is this some ploy to keep me from wandering the Hall? Do you really trust me so little?"

"No, it was an automatic inspection… It picked up something on the biological scan and put you in quarantine. I can't tell what it is without more..."

"It's scanning you now." Hawkman didn't appear on the screen, but his voice rang clearly through the speaker, as well as the sound of fingers typing furiously over the keyboard.

"Just stay calm, it'll probably come back as a false alarm."

"I'm perfectly calm," Dick lied.

"Biometrics says your heart is racing," Wally said doubtfully. "It'll be okay, Dick; for all we know, it's just a glitch."

"I highly doubt it," Hawkman interjected.

"It's racing because I'm _pissed_. You're locking me up under false pretenses. There is _nothing_ wrong with me."

"Except the nanites in your bloodstream," Hawkman's voice growled.

"Whoa, shit…" Wally's eyes widened as he looked off screen.

"Nano-tech? Shit…" Dick sneered and paced the tiny cell, his mind retracing every step that might have infected him.

"We're-uh- We're calling for help," Wally let him know, his eyes still off screen as his voice fumbled. "For now, you're going to have to relocate you to a holding room. I'm sorry, Dick, but I promise that we're doing everything that we can."

"I'm beginning to think you're doing everything you can to keep me out," he growled at the camera as the elevator began a sudden and very rapid decent to the lowest levels of The Hall. Located well below ground level, they had been built as bomb shelters, but were later adapted for quarantine and holding cells.

"Not everything," Hawkman's voice muttered, clearly displeased with the teen's attitude.

"Until we know what's in your blood, we can't let you out of quarantine. _You know better_." Wally steeled his voice slightly, looking into the camera.

The teen's upper lip quivered slightly as he fought off his sneer. "Fine. I guess waiting here is just as good as waiting out there… Any ideas on how long I get a complimentary stay in 'Otel d'League?"

"Not until I know what we're up against…"

His stomach flopped as the elevator slowed to a stop on the lowest floor before the doors opened to reveal a room that was hardly any larger than the elevator. It did, however, have a lovely little cot, sink, and toilet. He stepped inside and immediately noticed a screen and camera lodged in the corner.

"Cozy," he muttered to himself as the screen flickered on and Wally's voice spoke once again.

"I'm going to come down for a blood sample once we're done prepping the lab. We have a nano-sweeper, but it was among the damaged items in the quake, no one had gotten around to fixing it yet."

"It's fine; just do what you have to." The teen sat on the cot and found it less than comfortable.

"Do… you want me to call Batman?" Dick only turned and glared at the camera, giving the red-head a very clear response. "Whoa, that's a no… Alright then, just hang tight. Want me to put on the news, or something?"

"Sure," he shrugged, resting his head against the wall. "It's not like I have anything better to watch down here."

* * *

Contrary to his words, Robin did have something better to watch. He had Slade's data disk.

After disabling the transmission function on his communicator, just as a precaution so that no one could hack his line and read the files, he plugged the disk into the drive.

"What are you doing?" Hawkman's voice came over the speakers, but the screen continued to play the news.

"Just playing some games," he smirked, holding the device up to the camera and showing the complicated progressive matrices on the screen. Leave it to Slade to encrypt all of the files with those stupid mind puzzles, but for once it came at just the right time. He didn't receive a response from the winged guard, which was enough of an answer for him.

He worked furiously on the puzzles, earning rewards in the form of access to different files, new information. What he found was much the same as Batman's files, which left an unsettling feeling in his gut because, once again, Slade had been more truthful than Bruce. In little time, he was flipping back and forth between the files retrieved from the Batcave and those given to him by Slade, filling in tiny gaps in the records and in his questions.

Batman, and by extension The League, were aware of the man's healing abilities and, like Slade, attributed his gifts to military experiments. According to League notes, Lieutenant Colonel Slade Wilson received experimental doses of something called ACTH derivative, reportedly intended to allow greater resistance to truth serums. Slade's notes on the matter were complete and far more… graphic. It was clear that the procedure was more than met the eye. The drug had been given to at least ten other soldiers, all of whom had died from the procedure or the terrible insanity that followed it. The pictures of their wasted bodies were… not pretty. Their faces distorted as if they had undergone extreme and prolonged torture. Slade too had succumbed to madness but had fallen into a deep coma and somehow awoken, changed forever. He'd opted for more experiments following his first round, which he confessed in his notes was also an excuse to copy the documents of the research, should they ever be destroyed. Judging by the different documents in Batman's files, they had been.

He felt his eyes growing wider as he read through the government section of the documents. It was clear why they were supposed to be destroyed… The derivative, or whatever it was, had great and terrible effects on the body. Continued use resulted in super-human strength, increased agility, vitality, healing… even the brain itself became a weapon. Or at least that's what happened when it didn't _kill_ you… Robin supposed the drug was too unstable for future use, but something in Slade's notes suggested otherwise. He knew the man well enough to recognize his curiosity, and handwritten notes copied into digital files gave much away about his intentions. Slade never could leave well enough alone, could he? The man had obviously continued the experiments, building a better Slade that was far less mortal. The wounds from the Slade-bot and the nanos really _should_ have killed him, or at least left him out of commission for weeks, judging by past documentations of his healing abilities.

Then, Robin stumbled over a very curious set of notes, detailing the planned assassination of Slade Wilson. Slade had apparently killed all who tried, and eventually killed all scientists and military officials that ordered their experiment to be terminated… Pictures of the incident made it clear that their deaths were quick and precise, strictly business… all except for one man, a general, who Slade seemed to have taken his time on. The ring-leader, Robin supposed, turning up his lip at the man's ribs, which were painfully visible in the photograph.

"Lab's ready, I'm coming down for a sample," Wally let him know over the television screen. "I hope you won't take it personally that I'm in a hazmat suit."

"Only about as personally as being quarantined in a closet," Dick replied, shutting down his communicator and looking up into the camera.

The redhead paused, "I think that was a joke… Was it?"

"It's the closest thing to a joke that you'll get out of me tonight."

"I'll take it, then!" Wally smiled, dredging up guilty feelings in Robin for his anger. Wally was trying… he would probably never give up… but he would also lie again if a similar situation arose, something that the teen didn't need to do much to remind himself of.

The redhead entered the tiny room in a bright yellow suit, bringing back odd pangs of nostalgia because the color matched his original uniform so closely.

He held a needle in the air and made an ominous face under the clear plastic shield before speaking in a cryptic voice, "Assume the position."

Dick remained straight-faced as he rolled up his sleeve.

"No, good, huh?"

"Yeah, needles just aren't my thing," the dark haired teen replied, eyeing the lancet and feeling his heart speeding up.

"No? Well, don't worry. I have a velveteen touch. I've never had any of my patients complain."

"You work _forensics_."

"Details, details," Wally mumbled, a tentative smile on his lips as he rubbed iodine over Dick's inner arm. He couldn't help but smirk when the teen turned away, a slight flush on his cheeks. "Geeze, you weren't kidding. These things really do scare you."

"Let's just get it over with," Dick muttered, remembering the last time he faced a needle and trying not to relive the physical memories of it. Still, his hair stood on end as he remembered Slade's teasing voice and the sting of the needle as it slid under his skin. He fought off the moan when he felt it again, trying not to imagine Slade's eye glowing from under that damned mask.

"Almost done. I just need a little," Wally mumbled as the clear tube filled with blood, leading to several different vials that the speedster switched in the blink of an eye, giving Dick a moment to concentrate on something other than his memories. He always liked to watch Wally move; see if his eyes were fooled by the speed. Sometimes, when Wally was tired, he could almost make out each movement with clarity. And he was tired, Dick realized. His eyes followed each movement with greater ease, flickering up to watch the green eyes darting under the clear plastic mask as the speedster worked. He didn't really look it, but he was certainly showing his fatigue. "Aaaand, there! Done."

Wally pulled the needle away and Dick pressed a cotton swab to the tiny mark, holding his arm high.

"I know I'm one of the last people you want to hear this from," the redhead mumbled as he packed the tubes into an air-tight cooler, "but I'm here… you know… if you want to talk…" Dick's jaw tightened along with his fists as his former partner turned to face him, the green eyes pained and sincere. "Only if you want. No pressure."

The dark haired man kept his face blank and fists tight as he gave a small nod, leaning against the wall and letting his eyes wander over less interesting things, a sure sign that the conversation was over. The redhead heaved a heavy sigh and nodded before moving towards the door, waiting with slumped shoulders for Hawkman to send the lift. The silence felt heavy as he stepped inside, not turning to face the hero as the door closed. He was almost certain he heard the hero whisper a very quiet "_thanks,_" just before the door closed.

* * *

"Anything good?" Slade called out to the claw-clad woman across the rooftop, smirking when she startled, flipping in midair and landing on all fours, poised for attack. She glared at him under her mask.

"Give a girl a heart attack, why don't ya," Catwoman purred, soothing down her imaginary hackles and changing her posture to reflect seduction, not defense. "Not many can sneak up on me, you know that, _Slade_?"

"Oh, I'm aware. You do tend to keep on your toes," he smiled, moving closer. "That's why I'm here."

"Oh?" she cooed, reaching slowly for the whip wrapped around her waist.

The villain stopped just feet away, his eye catching the faintest hint of light from under his mask. "As much as I admire a woman that can literally whip my ass, that's _not_ why I'm here. I'm proposing a… _business arrangement _of sorts."

"Sorry darling, I've got my own agendas to play with." Her lips pursed into a luscious smile as she gave an apologetic shrug that was too sweet to be real. "Your reputation _precedes_ you, and I don't want big trouble…" She turned on her heel once again and pulled out her goggles, crouching down and peering across the street with intention. "Just big diamonds."

Slade couldn't help but give a curious glance at the building she was studying so closely. "Jewelry store, hmm?"

"Hey, a girl's got to eat," she purred, tail in the air and eyes off the killer, but ears definitely calked back in attention.

"Those rocks would look like kitty litter after what I'll pay you. Hell, I'll even pay you in diamonds, if that's what you want."

"I've been fucked over by enough men to know that when they promise diamonds, _you run_."

"You're not even curious as to what I'm asking?"

"You know what they say about cats and curiosity."

Slade only gave a short laugh. "Can't bait you with karats, hmm? What about a stick?"

"I hope you don't expect me to play fetch with it. Never ask a cat to do bitch work."

"Bitch work? Hardly. I just want you to keep your eyes out, maybe do a little prowling to stir up a rat in hiding. I'm on a schedule and could use the extra help."

"Uh-huh. Puppy guarding and playing fetch. No thanks. Maybe you don't know this, but I don't play well with others. My night is strictly between me and that big-ass safe over there."

"I was hoping more for a game of cat-and-mouse. Did I mention I like to pay part upfront?" he asked, pulling a pouch from his belt and shaking it lightly.

"Oh, I didn't know you spoke the language of instant gratification." She turned, licking her lips and eyeing him dangerously, her thieving intentions made very clear by her eyes before they melted into a more cautious expression. She could steal from him, maybe. But the villain was not the kind of man to piss off. He took things a little too personally, and she was already suffering from an ill-planned alliance. She smiled again, "Just the same… I work alone."

"I'll tell you what," Slade hummed good naturedly. "I'm going to leave this bag here with a card and a picture. You see the man in the picture; you call the number on the card. Either way, the diamonds are for you."

"You sure know how to spoil a lady," she said with an indulgent purr as he set the items on a nearby skylight and turned away.

"There's more where that came from, if you find him. And_ if_ you find him, don't touch. He's mine."

"Are you going to kill him?" she asked almost off handedly as she strolled over to the bag of diamonds, fingers kneading into the velvet.

"After I get what I want," he answered coldly, eye gazing over the city as he calculated his next move.

"And what does a man like you want?" she purred, opening the bag and smiling.

"That depends entirely on the state of his hostage," Slade gave her a deadly serious look.

"Hostage?" she cocked a brow, actually interested.

"He's using nano-technology. Dangerous stuff. Nine-lives or no, you wouldn't stand a chance."

"Who's the lucky hostage?" she asked, pulling a large rock from the bag and almost purring.

"Batman's side-kick."

"The pretty little bird?" she frowned. "Batman won't like that, will he?"

"And he's not the only one. I've got plans for that boy. So give me a hand, would you, Cat? We find this bastard by sun-up or the kid dies."

"Maybe just this once," she eyed him cautiously. "For a price. I may not be heartless, but I'm not cheap, either."

"I'm a man of my word." Slade extended his hand and glared slightly when the woman backed away, diamond pouch dangling from her belt.

She waved a finger at him teasingly before purring, "After all that, you think you'd know better than to ask a cat to _shake_." Her heels were the last thing the villain saw before she flipped over the side of the building.

Slade exhaled slowly. Pulling out his communicator and checking it once again and allowing a private frown behind his mask. As the warm air billowed gently from his mask, creating a thin wisp of cloudy air that disappeared into the night, he wondered silently if it was already over.

* * *

"They did what, now?"

"They deactivated when we took the sample," Wally frowned. "I think the nanos are specifically designed to interact within the body. Whoever did this to you is watching you… tracking you, most likely. They deactivate when they exit your body so the readings will remain accurate."

"Is that all they're doing? Stalking me?" Dick frowned, his lips curled slightly.

"For now, I think… but judging from just the shape of these things, they could do some serious damage. I mean _lethal_ damage."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Well, when Slade wants something done…" Wally's frowned at the quarantined hero through the glowing screen lodged in the corner.

_And let's not forget ParadoX_, Robin thought, reminded grimly of their encounter when he nearly killed Slade with the nano-laden sword. Was that going to happen to him? The fact that the nanos hadn't killed him yet was no promise that they weren't deadly. But, if it was ParadoX, how had he been infected? His eyes dilated slightly as he remembered the tingling in his hands as they shook on their agreement… could that have been it? It had to be…

"We're still working on repairing the nano-sweeping machine, but we think it will be done soon. About midnight, or so."

"I'd like to wring Ivy's neck for those earthquakes about now," He grumbled.

"Hang tight. The meeting is tomorrow morning. Until then, we're seeing if we can't tease some information out of these bad boys."

The teen crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, the slightest curl hinting at the corner of his mouth. "This hotel sucks."

* * *

Catwoman paced carefully over a rooftop, considering her options. On one hand, she had a psychopathic mastermind that wouldn't think twice at the idea of murdering her if the conditions were right. Of course, he had also promised a very handsome reward for her services… But on the other hand, there was an easy pay off with minimal effort from a psychopathic mastermind that wouldn't think twice at the idea of murdering her if the conditions were right… Decisions, decisions…

Choosing to guard ParadoX's location had seemed like a good idea at the time. The guy had been stealing jewels by the handful in Gotham and Jump for months, and he was willing to blow it all on a safe place to hide… Of course, she thought he was hiding from Batman… not Slade. Batman, she could handle. But a man who played to kill? That changed things a bit… especially when it turned out Slade had his own rewards to offer… and information that ParadoX was using nano-tech... oh, and of course, there was a little bird to worry about. She hadn't seen the kid in ages, but she'd always had a soft spot for him. He was pretty thing, and she _liked_ pretty things. She liked being alive just a little bit more, though…

She pursed her lips, nose wrinkling, as she made her decision. She lifted her heel and flipped the switch on the Bat-signal.

* * *

Slade waited, hiding in the shadows as the gaudy light moved across the foggy Gotham sky. He knew better than to trust the cat, especially because he also had a very large assumption that ParadoX was employing her. How else could he benefit from pile of shiny gold and rocks? The moon behind the haze and clouds told him that the night was still young, but surely the Dark Knight wouldn't keep the kitty waiting…

He glanced at his watch and gritted his teeth. Nothing to do but wait and wonder…

* * *

A full-house meeting of the League was rare, yet it seemed everyone had special interest in the Batman's sidekick and his latest indiscretion. Robin kept his jaw set, refusing to be intimidated as he stood before the Leaguers in the Hall of Justice. He had made his case, presented it with the same calm, detached authority that Batman used to give briefings. It wouldn't be enough to earn their trust, but maybe he could garnish more respect than Batman had given him.

"_We remain concerned, Robin, that your choices reflect a deeper misunderstanding of the duties as protectors of justice_." Wonder Woman stood, speaking from the crowd. "_You are not a League member, but your offence is a heavy burden for your team and ours. You stole evidence. Dangerous evidence, as you well know._"

"_As the inventor of the belt, I felt it was my right to_-"

"_What's more, you assaulted a League member, a founder, no less_."

"_Yes, that was-_"

"_And then there is the issue of Slade_," Batman spoke quietly from behind him. He jumped slightly, not having realized the man had moved from the audience. He was among them just a moment before, such a jump was logically impossible, but the teen was well acquainted with the Dark Knight's ability to do defy logic.

"_What about Slade?_" Robin's mouth went dry.

The man sneered in response, looming over his sidekick and covering him in his shadow as he hissed, "_I know __**all**__ about it."_

"_Perhaps you would be inclined to share this information, Batman_." J'onn J'onzz spoke from the crowd, getting a few murmurs of agreement. "_We have limited time to deliberate._"

Robin's eyes widened as they stared up at this mentor. His chest became tight as Batman glowered over him. It was useless to argue, he knew that much… _Batman_ knew that much…

"_It's over_," Batman whispered in the same dry voice, it was as low as a whisper, and yet everyone in the hall could hear it. Such a thing seemed naturally impossible, and yet Robin _knew_ that everyone would hear. Everyone would know his _secrets_ when Batman revealed his _lies_ and _deception_. And there was no question that he would. Batman's relationships were all a means to an end.

"_Don't_," he whispered to his mentor, voice pleading but edged with dark warning. Robin wasn't certain what would happen when his secrets were brought to light… he knew who he could turn to when that spot-light began to burn… but even that path seemed too dark…

"_Robin has met with Slade on multiple occasions, discretely_."

"_Bruce, please_…" Robin whispered so quietly that no sound escaped his lips, his eyes glancing at the crowd as they murmured and shifted lightly.

"_Their relationship is sexual in nature_," Batman's teeth clenched together and The League let out a collective gasp. "_And Robin has betrayed his oaths by entering into contract with Slade_."

All at once, there was a roar that overcame the Hall. Voices of his friends and mentors blended together into an angry cry of outrage, denial, condemnation… And yet, all Robin could look at was Batman. Batman, who stood over him, silent, glaring. Batman who knew his secrets… Batman who he protected secrets for… Batman who _knew_ and who _told_…

Robin held his jaw tight and glared into his mentor's eyes. "_What next_?"

"_You knew this would happen_," Batman spoke, his whisper drowning out the terrible noise as the League screamed and argued with each other. "_You knew I would have to stop you_."

"_Stop me_?" Robin almost managed a laugh. "_I'm not a criminal, Bruce_."

"_Give it time, Apprentice_," Batman hissed. "_You'll have all the time in the world with him._"

Robin heard the body land behind him, metal feet crashing against the floor, sending vibrations that threatened to break the floorboards apart. Without looking, Robin knew it was Slade.

Batman didn't flinch as Slade's hands moved over his ward's… no… former partner's shoulders, running slowly down his chest, blocking the yellow _R_ with his arms.

"_Come, Robin_," Slade spoke, beard tickling the side of the hero's head. "_Once more… for me_."

"_No_," Robin struggled to pull away, but Batman pushed him back, holding him against Slade with stern eyes and disgusted face.

"_Here_…" Slade whispered, pulling out the Toradol injector and holding it over his heart. "_For the pain..._"

Robin let out a scream when he felt the liquid burst under his skin, filling his heart with cold, sterile liquid that burned all throughout his chest.

* * *

"Hey!" The Flash stood over Dick Grayson, gloved hands shaking him lightly. "Wake up!"

"Don't!" Dick growled, pushing the speedster away but freezing when his eyes finally opened, revealing the tiny cell that he was quarantined in. Standing on the middle of it was The Flash, covered the hazmat suit and looking worried.

"You okay, buddy?" he asked carefully. "Your vitals were in panic mode. We thought maybe…"

"No, Yeah… I'm… I'm fine," he breathed quickly, chest heaving as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and held his forehead in his hand. "Just a dream…"

"Talk about it on the way to the nano-sweeper, It's ready." Wally held out a gloved hand, smiling under the plastic face shield.

Robin, a bit pale and shaking, accepted the hand. The rush of chilled air from the opening elevator doors made him conscious of the cold sweat that covered his body.

Wally stood by him, his apprehensive stance giving away his nervousness at the sudden change in his ally's physical condition. The Flash was well acquainted with nightmares that shook to the core, but the volatility of nanotech in the blood stream meant that anything, even a nightmare, could be a malicious creation of whoever was pulling the strings…

* * *

Slade growled and tossed the listening device aside. "Piece of shit," he muttered, returning to the scope on his rifle and focusing in on the pointy-eared pair several rooftops over. At least the bat-signal provided enough light to read lips by. He could only see The Cat's lips, but she was easier to read than The Bat, not afraid of showing the emotions that The Dark Knight trained himself not to reveal.

Catwoman had already explained her predicament to The Bat, not exactly spelling it out that she was excepting stolen diamonds in exchange for protection, but the detective would figure it out.

'_Slade says ParadoX is holding your little bird hostage_.'

Slade's lip curled into something of a smirk as he watched her lips forming words.

'_Something about nano-tech… I don't know, I stay away from those kind of toys when I can," _she paused, listening to the Bat._ 'Well, I'm not going back to the vault, that's for damn sure…'_

Slade growled as the Dark Knight stepped forward, blocking his view of The Cat's mouth. Whatever they said in the few brief moments was lost to Slade, but at least he had something to work with… So Paradox was hulled up in an old vault, eh? That made sense. Wherever ParadoX was, it would need a way to contain the Xenothium, prevent it from detection. A bomb shelter might do the trick as well… But The Cat surely knew the difference between a shelter and vault, hell, she spent half her time getting _into_ vaults. Slade gave a half-smile as The Batman dashed away; leaving the kitty with puckered lips as he spread his wings and flew over the side of the building. Slade prepared to follow until he noticed a sleek black jet dashing to catch the flying hero. "Damn," he murmured, pulling out a gun and firing, knowing full well that the magnetic tracker would likely be detected and removed before Batman could lead him to ParadoX. The binoculars swung back to see the tail end of a feline backflip before Catwoman disappeared over the opposite edge of the building.

And things had been going so well, too…

* * *

"Congratulations Boy Wonder, you are nano-free!" Wally shook his hand enthusiastically as he stepped out from the chamber. "What are you gonna' do next? Disneyland? By the way, nice tits."

"God, not you too," Dick groaned, a light smile on his expression, damned happy to be rid of the nanos in his body. "Roy only just shut up about them."

"I'd like to hear what Bats said about them," Wally chuckled lightly, but then his face sobered quickly before he muttered a quick and quiet, "_sorry._"

The dark haired boy sighed. "Don't be. Batman and I just… well, really, _I_ just need to… get over it, I guess. Batman did what he thought was right. _I_ can't really see the justification in lying to me like that, but I know _he_ does."

"He didn't mean to hurt you… I know that doesn't make it okay, but…"

"No, that doesn't make it okay," Dick answered quietly, pulling on his shirt and frowning. "As a kid… I guess I always thought I would grow into the cowl… That it would make more sense why Batman acted the way he does… But I still don't get it."

"Bats is… complicated… Even on a team, he tends to act alone. But he's good. Incredible, even. It's hard not to want to be like Batman at least _sometimes_…" They walked towards the elevator, stepping inside when the doors opened, sending in a gust of colder air.

"I don't want to be like him… Not anymore." The dark haired teen ran fingers through his hair as Wally pressed one of the many buttons lining the panel on the wall. "The secrets… the lies… the mistrust… I want to be someone better than Batman. Someone who doesn't live trapped in his own… I don't know… paranoia… hatred…?"

"Bats doesn't hate you."

"No, but he doesn't really trust me, either. Frankly, I'm surprised he trusts anyone. How the League found out, I'll never know."

"We slipped into an alternate dimension and things just kind of happened."

"Ah, that explains it," Dick replied casually, earning a smirk from the Red Head.

The elevator doors opened, bringing Dick back to the underground checkpoint where Hawkman was still on guard. "Come on. I've booked a hotel down the block for you. You've got a little time before the meeting, might as well sleep in a bed that doesn't feel like the floor."

The hero tightened his grip over the straps of his backpack, feeling the tension grow as the golden-masked hero watched them moving towards the car. Wally shot him a look, not quite a warning, but something close to it. Clearly, Hawkman was not pleased with the xenothium belt leaving The Hall, especially when Wally had the chance to confiscate it and chose not to. Dissent was rampant among all heroes, it seemed. Dick frowned as he pulled the car door shut, the sound echoing off the walls just as the engine came to life.

* * *

Slade eagerly opened his communicator, knowing well which device the call was coming from.

"Speak," he said, voice cold and direct.

"Well, fucking hello to you, too," Robin's voice answered back, sarcastically.

"Robin," the villain let out small, relieved breath. He wasted little time in leaning back down and peering through his scope. He was staking out the most plausible lead, a now empty bank that, at least when he was visiting Gotham, had been occupied by a tenacious little drug lord. There were usually at least a few people lining the sidewalks stoned into oblivion, but… not now… curious…

"Who else would it be?"

"That would depend on whether you were alive or not."

"And here I thought I was calling to give _you_ an update," the hero raised a brow, pulling open the curtain and looking out over DC. He'd switched rooms since checking in, swept every inch for bugs, and turned on his jammer. Perhaps Batman's paranoia was getting to him. That, or the fact that the Leagues' mistrust in him was reciprocated. "Busy night?"

"I did try to call you," Slade defended casually.

"I was on a plane back to Jump. I just left my phone off," Robin lied, moving back towards his bed and taking a seat on the side.

"I take it you're nano-free?"

"I am now. Mind telling me how the hell you know about it?" He held his breath.

"I'm afraid I'm the one that gave them to you."

Robin froze, his fist tightening. He'd assumed it was the handshake with ParadoX that infected him but, perhaps not. "Did you?"

"Not on purpose. I didn't know I had them, either. Wouldn't have slept with you if I did." Slade caught a passing drunkard in his crosshairs, following him until he wandered out of range.

"When you… oh, god, seriously?" Robin flopped back against the bed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Tell me you _did not_ give me a technological STI."

"I'd certainly prefer not to think of it that way," Slade muttered. "But, guilty as charged."

"Right. And how did _you_ get them?"

"I can only assume it happened when I fought the robot outside of Wayne's building." The crosshairs shifted to a group of young teens that ran through the streets, bragging loudly as they passed stolen goods between each other, mostly candy and an assortment of video games, from the looks of it. Though, the oldest boy had a nudie magazine. Ah, youth, such a rush to grow up. "I was hardly wounded, and I expected any chemical or nano-based attacks to have more immediate effects... Imagine my surprise when I learned I was heavily infected."

"Infected, but not dead. Why?"

"Not sure," Slade responded, keeping a close watch on the boys as they crowded around the boarded-up doors of the bank. "The tests I ran told me that they were deadly, no idea why our friends didn't activate them. Maybe biding their time for something else."

"You ran tests on them?" Robin asked, sitting up quickly.

"Of course," the villain scoffed, insulted that the hero would suggest he left any stone unturned. "Didn't you?"

"We tried, but they shut down as soon as they're outside a human body. We think they are active only when inside a living organism… But I suppose _your_ cells don't quite die when removed from your body, do they?"

"Been reading, have you?" Slade responded a bit smugly, his eye set on one of the boys as he punched the other in the arm, laughing.

"I have," he hesitated briefly, "it filled in the blanks as far as The League's notes on you."

"I'm certain of it. You and I are the only ones that have seen those files. Well, the only ones still _alive_, anyway."

"Yes, I read that part, too. Good of you to keep the pictures in there. Robin settled back pulling the edge of the covers over himself as a chill began to set in.

"Just being thorough," Slade answered innocently, watching the boys below giggle as they flipped through the magazine. But while his eye held on the street below, his ears keyed into the sound of shifting cloth. "You're lying on a bed, aren't you?" He purred. "I can hear the covers rustling."

"Yeah," Robin answered plainly. "I just flew across the country with a kid screaming right behind me. I'm _tired_."

"Too bad you left Gotham," Slade hummed in a dark, teasing voice. "We could be sharing a bed right now. I'd show you what _tired_ means. Flip you over, sink inside you, fuck like rabbits until the sun comes up." A smirk appeared on his lips when he heard the teen's breath hitch. "If you're thinking about touching yourself right now, Grayson, don't stop on my account."

"Go on…" Robin licked his lips and spoke with a light blush on his cheeks as he slowly unzipped his jeans. "Details would definitely help."

"Yes, they would," the villain purred, sending vibrations straight into the teen's groin. "Are you hard?"

"Very…" the teen answered softly, pulling his length free and stroking himself. "You?"

"Dripping," Slade replied in a low growl. It wasn't entirely true, but he could feel his tip, moistened with the pristine drops of pre-cum and swollen as the rest of his shaft, soaking into his briefs. "I want you to touch yourself for me… Slowly." His smirk deepened as he listened to the teen's breath, the subtle quivers as he obeyed each command. "Slide your index finger against the tip… good… now slowly trace it down the underside of your cock."

Robin bit his lip, moaning slightly as the tip of his finger moved down. He'd spent many hours touching himself since Slade first made his intentions known in the abandoned building. They were, as a majority, hours wasted. Only Slade could bring him to climax. He knew that now and the more logical parts of his being seemed to beg his mind to realize what a terrible mistake it was to crave the man so badly. Echoes of ParadoX's warning ran through his brain. _He's planning something, Kid. Something big._ The thought of trusting Slade should have paralyzed him… should have sickened him… and to some degree, it did. But despite the warnings, the gut-feelings, the blood-red flags that waved before his very eyes… the idea of pushing his trust to the edge of doom and treachery was… arousing. He tiled his head back, tongue darting out to lick his lips.

"Now cup your balls, rolling them gently in your palm." The villain's scope had returned to sweeping the area, checking for potential point of entry into the bank between glances at the teens and similar other traffic when it passed by.

Meanwhile, Robin writhed against the bed, his lips parting as his hand worked over his testicles. Slade's timing was nearly immaculate, giving a new command at just the right moment.

"Form a ring with two of your fingers and grip the base of your shaft." The small, almost silent, little groan from the hero made him smirk. "Work your hand upwards until you reach the head… again." He let the teen carry on for some time before he whispered his next command in a low and hungry growl. "Put a twist in each stroke. Harder... Good," he purred at the helpless little whimper from the hero.

The teen panted, his hand following orders almost on compulsion alone. It seemed … right… to listen to that voice, to follow it to his own satisfaction. _He's planning something, kid_… Robin cried out, feeling a rush of heated blood pump through his length, pulsing thicker in his hands. He let his mind reel with the memories of their previous sessions… The first time he'd been touched… the rooftop of the bank… the dizzy feeling from bloodletting… sounding… orgasm denial… nanos… bondage… breath play… The feeling of gravel digging into his back as Slade fucked him while looking into his eyes for the very first time. All thoughts of the man enthralled him… thrilled him… but nothing… _nothing_ compared to the knowledge that _he_ had crossed the line.

"Run your index finger from your frenulum to your head; when you reach the tip, I want you to push against the opening. Circle your finger around it… Good… now push harder…"

Robin whimpered softly, digging his finger in harder than he would have preferred because that's what Slade would have done. Yes… he'd crossed the line some time ago, walking on the edge between hero and human, letting his stride fall on whichever side it may. The thought used to disgust and terrify him… but somehow it heightened his pleasure, making him harder, _wetter_, than ever before. Was that Slade's plan? His eyes, bleary with fatigue, cracked open as he glanced at the clock, sending off more red flags in his brain. Did Slade want to seduce him into villainy?

That seemed a far stretch… but it was a slippery slope, wasn't it? He'd already lied to his team, withheld information, and lost perpetrators in the pursuit of maintaining his _relationship_ with Slade. True, his relationship with Batman had been strained for some time, but it wasn't until Slade became involved that it all went to Hell… and he'd _never_ had such a trepid relationship with The League. Was that really Slade's plan? To drive a wedge between heroics and pleasure?

"Pull down on your testicles. _Hard_."

Slade's voice seeped between the cracks in his thoughts as one hand pumped his length viciously while the other wrapped around his balls and pulled them down. He groaned loudly as he could feel his release flying through the tubes, the sensation nearly painful as white streaks erupted from his tip and landed on his stomach.

Slade gave a victorious little smile behind his mask. "Did you come, Robin?"

"Yeah…" the teen murmured, his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Good boy," the villain hummed, rather pleased that the hero was able to reach completion without him there. It was, perhaps, a very good sign, considering. "Were your eyes closed?"

"I'm… not really sure," he answered truthfully, wondering how it could possibly matter.

"I want them open during round two. Got it?" the villain's smiled was wide, feeling his own arousal twitching inside his cup as he continued to peer through the scope on his rifle. The boys on the street below were roughhousing again, teasing each other over the magazine. A flash of red and blue lights bounced from around a corner and the boys froze, looking at each other with widened eyes. Slade almost felt for them as they gawked at one another rather stupidly.

"Mmn," the teen confirmed, lying back against the bed once again. "But there's one thing-" The wail of the siren began, echoing through the streets of Gotham. Slade watched with interest as the boys scattered. "Um… Where did you say you were?" Robin asked, his brow quirked.

"I didn't," Slade answered, his scope following the police car as it growled down the street, spotlight landing on one of the boys as he turned down an alley. The other was soon caught in another light as the car doors swung open and dogs began barking- canine unit. How lazy. "I'm just property hunting."

"Is that siren for _you_?" Robin asked teasingly, but somewhat hopefully. He knew Slade wouldn't allow himself to be caught by the police, but a good chase could drive him off any trail he was following.

"Can't a man relocate his evil lair without being judged?" The villain asked innocently, watching as one of the boys was snagged by his collar and dragged back to the car. The other seemed to be putting up a fight around the corner, but the largest and presumably oldest of the boys had slipped inside the bank while the others had run off. He was a clever one. By the look of the door it was sealed completely, boarded up. Only the kid had known how to get in and he was smart enough to keep that information to himself. Slade was keeping a keen eye on the door, knowing that the boy might have leapt from the frying pan into the fire. "And, no, I'm staying on the down low with this transition. I wouldn't want to stir up any _vermin_, after all."

"See that you don't. I never want to see another one of your fuck-pads on the League's database."

"Speaking of that, a list would be helpful to let me know which bases need to be relocated."

"No can do, Slade," Robin smirked. "That would be a violation of rule number one, wouldn't it?"

"Would it?" The man feigned ignorance with a knowing smile, watching as the two teens were herded into the back of the patrol car while the officers spoke briefly amongst themselves. His scope swung back to the door of the closed bank. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. But nice try."

"Well, then, I suppose it's back to the races. It's been fun, though."

Robin's hum of contentment was enough of a response.

"Get some sleep, Grayson."

He ended the call just as the door to the patrol car slammed shut. Apparently they hadn't seen the last boy as they were coming in. Luck of the devil, Slade glared at the door and pulled out a small device from his belt. Xenothium levels were higher than when he first arrived on the rooftop. He frowned and placed the device back in its little pouch. Luck of the devil, maybe. Or perhaps it was one hell of a wrong turn

* * *

There we have it... sorry if the smut was a little lack-luster, but I can promise that Slade and Robin will definitely have some kinky fun in a few chapters. I've been looking forward to writing the result of their friendly little wager. Heh, heh, heh...

Until next time,

-Kuro


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: So, yes, here we are again. I had hoped to post this chapter, um... months ago. But things kinda got in the way. Lots of things. Some good and wonderful, some that pissed me off and broke my heart. I want to thank agirl4spidey and Kayz0rbeam (who endured my rants when things got rocky) and anyone that reads and (hopefully) enjoys this story. Thank you!

Okay, shutting up now. Things are about to happen in...

* * *

Chapter 26

* * *

Slade held the pistol steady in his hand as he slid, silently, into the building. He'd activated a beacon, calling a small fleet of Slade-bots to his location. He considered waiting for their arrival before proceeding, but something in the air called to him, ushered him to follow the boy's tracks while they were still warm. He couldn't quite place the feeling, but when instinct told him to pursue a quarry, he took to the hunt without reservation.

The inside of the bank felt like a littered tomb: Dark, cold, and stale. It was a tall structure with hints of baroque still flowering the walls and high barrel ceiling. Evidence of the drug trade could be found here and there, but it was clear that no _living_ thing had legitimately occupied the building in some time. There were marks on the floor. Deep gouges in the marble that were relatively new… and only one set of them. That meant something big came in that _didn't_ come _out_. Slade could only assume there was a Xenothium stockpile, if not ParadoX himself, hulled up in one of the vaults.

He smelled the air, taking in a slow, silent breath. Chocolate and peanut butter, the smell of a candy bar, hung faintly below the stale air. Well, the kid couldn't be too far off. The villain walked carefully, firm grip over the handle of his gun, but barrel raised to the ceiling. Shooting kids was really not his M.O. and instincts (even his) were dulled in a building where the only lights were from dingy lampposts that shined between the sliver-sized cracks of boarded up windows.

The sound of glass breaking made his head snap to attention, eye peering into the darkness of the hallways ahead. Slade began to move faster through the rows of wooden cubicles, his breath stilled as he listened to the frightened sounds of the young boy struggling. It was foolish to proceed without backup, something that registered in Slade's mind, but the sound of the struggle indicated only three bots were present. He could take that many if he was careful about disarming them before they self-destructed.

He moved deeper into the building, watching the cubicle walls give way to taller, more permanent paneled walls that reached as high as the vaulted ceiling. Slade pressed on, stalking down a narrow hallway lined with tall oak doors and opaque glass of executive offices, glancing down on the lines etched into the ruined marble floor. The hair on the back of his head stood on end before he slid to a quick halt. There were sounds behind those office doors, gentle hums of electric motors and the subtle clicking of robotic joints. He was very familiar with that sound; after all, they came from _his_ robots.

He tensed, drawing his second pistol in lightning speed and swearing under his breath as the hallway exploded with sound and movement, but shattering glass and splintering wood were the least of his problems. The small army of Slade-bots moved as quickly and viciously as he had designed them. He fired four rounds into the crowd of metal assassins, but despite his fast trigger finger and the knowledge of when and where to aim, there were simply too many to stop by himself. His guns were stripped away first, then his belts, his gauntlets, his mask. All were ripped away- and none too carefully. He shook away the blood that was dripping into his eye as the robots held a firm grip over his limbs, carrying him swiftly towards an open vault door. They'd left pieces of his armor intact: His arm and neck guards. That was a mistake. He managed to take a few robots down in the process of their journey, but it wasn't long before he ended in a room lined with tiny metal drawers. He'd been taken into a vault, he realized, though his brain quickly replaced the word with _tomb_. His tomb, specifically. There was a faint glowing from the four quart-sized glass tubes of Xenothium that were stacked against the back wall. Make that three tubes. One had been broken.

A snivel caught Slade's attention and he glanced at the teen huddled in the corner, blond hair dripping wet with the dangerous element. He'd broken the fourth tube, it seemed. Or perhaps one of the bots broke it to set a trap. The young man was guarded by two of the bots, but as Slade was pulled into the room, the bots abandoned the child for the more desirable target.

"It would be a good time to run!" Slade found himself yelling, realizing with a pang of guilt why he'd been so blind, so _arrogant_, to chase after the youth. It was the hair, mostly, the soft angelic blonde that framed his son's face as a boy. Joey. The slight resemblance clouded his mind. Was that part of the trap? Impossible. Nothing in his programming would allow that information to be leaked to ParadoX. Not even his most sophisticated Slade-Bots were programmed with the memories of his grossest mistakes… and besides, the look on the kid's face suggested nothing close to a trap. He was scared shitless, face pale white as he scrambled to his feet.

Slade watched, struggling and growling as the youth dashed between the metal limbs of the bots, making his way towards the door. Meanwhile, the bots pressed forward towards the Xenothium, dragging the villain in their grasp. Slade had no choice but to fight tooth and nail against his robotic captors. He dared a glance back at the boy, who rounded the door and could be heard as he sprinted down the hall, scattering the debris as he ran.

The villain was surprised when one of the robots lifted the tube in its arms, carrying it to the man with the obvious intent to douse him in the substance. It seemed a great waste to kill him with the vital element used to keep ParadoX _alive_, but then again, not many things could keep Slade _dead_. No time like the present, Slade decided. He twisted his torso violently, dislocating his shoulder and slipping away from the grasp of one of the robots. He thrashed his legs as well, smashing three of the bots against the walls and causing one to fly back, colliding with the tube and smashing the glass into pieces.

Slade held his breath, trying not to inhale the acrid fumes as he jammed his fingers into a small latch door of his bots. A genuine advantage to fighting his own creations was that he knew just where to hit and particularly which wires would trigger the self-destruct mechanism. A quick pull of a red and orange wire, a well placed kick, and the remaining tubes of Xenothium were all the man needed to set his trap. He dove back, pulling one of the bots in front of him as a shield just as a bright flash of red light flooded the vault.

The first wave of a Xenothium explosion, Slade knew very well, pushed everything out in a terrible rush of heat and force. He could feel his skin singe against the bot's metal as they flew through the air, crashing through the offices until suddenly the force stopped and Slade hit the floor with a very unceremonious crash. The calm that followed was brief and silent; Slade wasted no moment of it. The next wave would be like a sinking tide, pulling everything _back_ and _in_ until there everything simply _disintegrated_. He lunged at the door to another vault, lodging his good arm behind the spokes of the wheeled door handle and holding on tight as the dust and debris began to shake, bouncing and rattling until they were lifted in the air and flew towards the epicenter of the explosion.

Slade held tight as best he could, the force pulling his body into the air, threatening to rip him away from the vault door. He could hear the metal hinges groaning in protest as the door began to swing very slowly with the force of the implosion. The more ominous sounds of bones breaking made the villain swear, only to have the sound ripped away by the whirlwind. His arm, coiled around the wheel and lodged between the spokes, had broken in two places, gaining on three. He could feel the metal of his armor bending to the intensity of the force. The villain could do nothing but close his eye tightly against the suction and let out all his breath as the space around him became more and more like a vacuum. He opened his eye for just a moment and watched his breath, now a wisp of cloudy vapor, zoom away, moving at pace with a large oak desk that was picked up effortlessly and dragged through the air. He calculated about nine seconds, at best, before he lost consciousness. He would have to count on the strength of his armor at that point. He was never quite so thankful for the metal guards that kept his arm lodged firmly in the spokes.

Slade could feel his heart beating erratically in his chest as his chest heaved slightly, an uncontrollable spasm as though his body was trying to cough. _That would be the cardio-respiratory failure_, he thought rather grimly as his head began to ache. Another spasm hit, and his vision grew dark and blurry as he saw the objects around him begin to vanish. Then his armor began to make a terrible screeching noise as it flaked away into tiny little pieces. The last thing he remembered as his skin began to crawl and trickle away with the powerful tide, was that it felt even worse than it looked.

* * *

Slade awoke to immense pain coursing through his veins with each heartbeat. Death was a familiar visitor to his body, so he knew the process well enough. The smell of blood and rubble filled his nose as he began to breathe, though rather poorly. There was something heavy on his chest, and from the feel of it, it was crushing his right lung. By the time his eye regained the ability to see, he'd already realized that the building had collapsed around him. It was mildly surprising, considering that the Xenothium hadn't been primed for that level of explosion—but that was the problem with volatile elements: they were terribly unpredictable. He counted himself lucky that only _part_ of this body had disintegrated, though lucky was not something he felt at the moment.

His blood-loss had been substantial, leaving him dangerously dehydrated. Not to mention the healing process had taken place in a very unclean environment, meaning that he'd be picking out bits of God-knows-what from his skin for days. He tried to sigh, but stopped when he felt a few ribs cracking. The only way out was to _dig_, and he wasn't in any sort of position to do that. He could only wait for the fleet and hope that they would recognize his vital signs within the rubble.

What a way to start the day.

* * *

Robin bolted upright, fighting against the sheets of the hotel bed until he realized he was no longer in a tall circus tent. Another nightmare, this time it was a memory twisted into something unrecognizable. He bent forward, pushing his head against his palms and shaking in a cold sweat.

It was not unusual to have a nightmare about his parents' death, but the nightmare was always the same: A perfect echo of the moment when his only family was ripped away from him. But this time… This time Slade was there. He'd killed Tony Zucco. It was a fatal shot through his heart before the man could sabotage the trapeze. In the dream, only Dick Grayson had seen Slade kill Zucco. The villain had simply smiled and held a finger to his lips, asking for the secret to stay between them. Dick Grayson had obliged with a small nod, young eyes wide, knowing just what perils the murder had prevented. Then he joined his parents, jumping off the pulpit and flying like a robin. His mother smiled warmly at him when she caught his wrists, and his father made a funny face after grabbing hold of his ankles. Just like they practiced. It was only when the boy grabbed hold of his own swinging bar that he realized something was wrong. He could feel the fibers of the rope twisting, unwinding, _snapping_. He looked back to his parents, who reached for him in terror. He knew that they would never reach each other and simply accepted the fall, keeping his eyes on his mother's face as he made his final descent. It was a fair price, he supposed. He was grateful to pay it. He smiled and turning his gaze to the floor, noticing just before he hit the thin layer of sawdust that Slade was watching from the stands.

Robin rubbed his face harshly before looking to the glowing clock. Two minutes before the alarm went off. Damn. There was no use in trying to sleep, though he desperately wanted to. He grabbed the communicator Slade had given him and opened it, holding it to his ear and frowning when he realized how utterly stupid he was being. Why in the hell, _especially_ after that nightmare, was he calling _Slade_? He bit his lip and closed the device, hoping that the call did not ring through. The teen took in a deep breath and stood, deciding that a quick rinse off was needed before his meeting with The League. It probably wasn't a good idea to look so sweaty before he took the stand.

The too-bright lights of the bathroom made him flinch as stepped behind the curtain, letting the steam build as his eyes adjusted. He frowned as he ran his hand over his stomach, remembering his _conversation_ with Slade just hours before. What side of the line was he on now? He wondered as he numbly stared down at his feet, imagining a thick dark line that swayed in time with his thoughts. Everything in him screamed that Slade was a liar and that he wasn't to be trusted… that much was supposed to be obvious. But the darker parts of his thoughts echoed the same of Bruce and The League. Could he trust any of them? The line quivered in his mind. Could he trust himself?

His head snapped up.

_Could he?_ He swallowed hard. When it came down to it… a choice between doing what was _right_ and doing, well, _Slade_… what would he choose? He bit his lip and splashed the water against his face, rubbing his eyes as if that could bring some sort of divine clarity. It didn't. On too many levels, he'd already disobeyed the trust he should have kept with everyone… but the trust he kept in _himself_. Where was that line? Surely he'd crossed it, but it was one streak on his record that Robin simply couldn't calculate. He shut off the water, wondering if he'd really gone too far, or if he was just wallowing in guilt from the thrill he felt at crossing the line. He'd more than crossed the line, he'd _enjoyed_ it. His mind flashed back to the days of his _apprenticeship_, remembering how Slade had taunted him, calling him out on the rush he'd gotten when he crossed the line, albeit unwillingly at the time… Suddenly it those words hit a lot closer to home.

The towel was still damp from hours before, but Robin whisked it over his body anyhow and ran a comb through his hair. A quick glance at his communicator told him that he had twenty minutes to get to the Hall. He slid into his uniform, feeling oddly sickened by the colors that he'd worn for so long. He swallowed at the memory of Slade's promise that someday he would learn to enjoy the thrill of committing crimes, of living without the ability to cross lines because they simply didn't exist in that world. He placed his mask over his face and frowned at his reflection, staring at the black strip of rubber that covered his eyes. Perhaps the little black strip was the final line, clinging to his cheeks and begging to be crossed just _one_ _more_ _time_.

* * *

Robin entered The Hall with an unenthusiastic sigh. The League had, for the most part, already convened in the private meeting room in the heart of the building. The room was bullet-proof, bomb-proof, and sound-proof. A careful glance inside told him that Batman wasn't there yet. Wally had given him a quick nod of the head from inside, which the hero hesitantly returned before he took a seat next to the large doors. The doors looked to be made of solid oak, but were most certainly made of something stronger than that. Robin knew better than to walk past them without an invitation; but he was slightly vexed that the offer hand not yet been made. He _was_ the reason the meeting was called, after all, and he'd hoped to get things over with quickly so he could get back to business.

He went over his speech in his head, choosing his words carefully, deciding which secrets he needed to spill and which ones to keep. The fact that he knew Slade's identity was well out of the bag, but not that ParadoX had come to him for help- and _that_ was the kicker. How was he to convince a group of super-powered crime fighters that the right move was to hand over a dangerous suit that was powered with an unstable, highly explosive element? They didn't trust the Titans like they trusted one another. They would want to deliberate, plan, _take over_. To some extent, Robin would have to let them… But how could he let them know that Slade wanted ParadoX eliminated without breaking the contract?

He frowned at his unsettling priorities. ParadoX should have been his main concern, yet there he was, about to twist his tongue in knots to keep the contract in place and unnoticed. Just another line worth crossing, he supposed, adding a glare to his frown. He lifted his head and schooled his features into a neutral expression when he heard others approaching. Batman was walking with Superman and John, one of the Lanterns. Robin stood, holding onto the glare behind his mask as his mentor walked to him.

"Robin," the Dark Knight acknowledged, with a slight, almost immeasurable bow of the head. It was a curious gesture from the man, but the interpretation was lost somewhere between respect, regret, and indifference. "I'm sorry it came to this."

The teen's brow quirked. "Are you?"

"Yes," He responded in a low voice. "I truly am."

Batman turned and walked into the hall, followed closely by Superman and John. The Lantern wavered slightly, falling behind just enough prolong his eye contact with the teen. Robin only stared back into the piercing green eyes, chin firmly in place, until the man gave a tiny smirk that strangely resembled fondness before he followed the others.

The doors closed, pushing a gust of stale air throughout the corridor as the room was sealed up and The Boy Wonder was sealed out.

"Of course." Robin's frown returned. He should have known better than to hope they would let him speak before entering the evidence against him. But it _would_ have been nice to at least hear what they were saying so he could prepare his argument accordingly. He growled and took a seat once again. "League business, as usual," he muttered.

* * *

Robin shifted uncomfortably in his chair, staring at a blank wall although his attention was fixated on the doors. It had been nearly two hours since The League had convened to decide the fate of the Red-X suit—and certainly of Red X himself...

In the time that he'd been waiting in the deserted corridor, Robin had made up his mind. ParadoX's story had to be told. There was no other way to impress upon The League how dire the situation had become and no other way to convince them that Red X needed and _deserved_ their help. There was serious risk with this gamble, though. ParadoX knew his secret, and despite his promise, his debt to the hero, the villain might betray Robin if it meant a safer path towards his goal. He had the instinct of a hunter and the wits of a master thief- not a good combination when a valuable secret was in the balance.

The doors opened wide and Robin jumped to his feet, expecting one of The Leaguers to act as a page and call him forward. Instead he was greeted by the entire League, slowly making their way towards the exits between small talk with one-another. Glances were cast his way, some with less than subtle distrust riddled in their features.

"The meeting was adjourned," The Flash appeared next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Short-notice because of a few emergencies, but they are turning over the suit to you."

"Adjourned? I got that," the teen motioned to the crowd that moved in streams around him, then pointed to the emptying room. "Why wasn't I called forward to make my case?"

"I took care of it." Batman walked forward, stepping out of the crowd and joining the small group. The Lantern, Aquaman, and Zatanna joined as well, keeping a keen eye on the Batman's sidekick.

"Took care of-"Robin began, but Batman interrupted.

"Yes. I made a mistake in stopping you, and I took care of it. The suit will be turned over to you, as it should have been in the first place. It is your invention, and I trust you will put it to good use. I and several of the members of The League have already offered our assistance in the retrieval and safe-keeping of ParadoX. Raven and Zatana will prepare the necessary rites to ensure that his body is returned properly to the suit. In the meantime, The League and Titans are systematically locating and confiscating the Xenothium caches that ParadoX has hidden around Gotham city and surrounding areas."

Robin looked dumbfounded for a moment before his lip curled. "Of course _you've_ already gotten this whole thing under your thumb. Why am I surprised?"

"Hey, Bats stuck his neck out for you in there." The Flash crossed his arms, clearly running low on sleep and patience. "And he's willing to help. He _convinced_ _others_ _to help_. You really want to turn it down right now?"

"What I _wanted_ was to speak before The League. To come forward and win their support because I _earned_ it." He scoffed and grudgingly continued. "Doesn't matter. It's fine. I appreciate the help, and I know Red X would too…"

"I met with Catwoman," Batman continued in monotone. "She had been safeguarding him—at least until Slade made his intentions known."

"Slade?" Robin played dumb, but interested. It worked, judging by the small glare his mentor gave at his piqued attention. "What are his _interests_, exactly?"

"At the moment, ParadoX," Wally sighed. "His been keeping tabs on Gotham's underground, it seems. He knew when you were struck with Nanos and tried to use it as leverage to find ParadoX. That's why he went to Catwoman; somehow he knew she was working for him."

"Was Slade the one that infected me with them?" Robin asked, playing his suspicions off as anxious curiosity.

"We're not sure," Wally muttered, looking frustrated. I can't reactivate them well enough to get a good trace."

"ParadoX has the means to do it, but he _claims_ it wasn't him," Aquaman said. "I'm not sure, though. He goes back and forth on some things and sometimes doesn't seem to know the truth himself. And it's not like Slade is talking, either."

"What does that mean?" Robin asked quickly, watching as four sets of eyes looked to Batman.

"If you don't tell him, I will." John, the Green Lantern that stared at him before the meeting, spoke. "It's bull that you've kept that much from him already."

"Tell me what?" Robin turned to the Lantern before jerking his head back to Batman, who remained silent in an indistinguishable hesitation.

The Lantern clicked his tongue in disappointment before answering. "Slade was taken into custody after he found one of the Xenothium caches. Set off a chain-reaction and nearly got himself killed. He was pretty bad when I found him, a normal man _would_ be _dead_, but it sounds like he's already healed enough to be moved out of the ICU and into solitary."

"Where is he being held?" Robin asked quickly, turning away from the Flash and Batman because -_finally_- someone was giving him answers.

"Arkham," Batman answered and the Lantern nodded.

"You're not going to go there, are you, Dick?" Wally asked carefully, his eyes lined with concern and a hint of warning.

It was a stupid question with an even more stupid answer, but before Robin could give it, a loud popping noise echoed through The Hall. At once the inhabitants were dropped into darkness that lasted for only a small moment before the generators kicked on the emergency lights.

"Seems like it wasn't a few isolated incidents," the Lantern growled.

"We had reports of large-scale power outages in major cities," Wally let the young hero know. "I've got to go; Central City is on the list and I smell trouble brewing."

"Gotham, too. Sounds like the looting has begun," Batman said listlessly as he pressed a finger to his ear, listening to the police radio frequency. "Steel City can't be far behind. That might interfere with our plans for ParadoX, but having Slade behind bars takes the danger down a peg or two."

"Reconvene in Gotham once the power situation is under control?" Zatanna asked, pulling the hem of her white gloves to tighten them over her fingers.

"Right," Batman nodded and the group disbanded. He turned to his ward. "I'm the fastest ride to Gotham. Maybe I can talk some sense into you on the way over."

"Because our last conversation went so well?" Robin tried to keep his lip from curling, but didn't do a particularly thorough job of it.

"I told you, Robin. I made a mistake. And right now I'm doing what I can to fix it. You need help with ParadoX, and I have put my name on the line to give it to you. Not everyone in The League is pleased with the decision, and I can't afford to-"

"To let me fuck it up?" the young man growled.

"To betray their _trust_," the Dark Knight finished, his frown evident. "Take the ride, or leave it. But I _am_ a part of this mission now, and _you will_ give your _respect_ The League members that are putting their safety on the line for _your mission_. Need I _remind_ you that the Red X suit didn't create itself?"

The men simply glared at each other before Robin nodded contemptuously. "Fine. You get the suit, I'll get my things from the hotel."

* * *

The ride back to Gotham was silent, save for the reports of the ensuing chaos, and various communications between The League as more and more cities fell under red alerts. Robin had already spoken with his team. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire had returned to Jump to help quell the disaster resulting from the very sudden lack of power. Pockets of extreme violence had broken out in some cities, though generally contained to small groups in confined areas. It was odd, though. Not the normal looting and gang fights that normally occurred with emergencies like blackouts.

People were attacking each other and anything that moved with extreme prejudice. Animals, too, seemed to be out of control in some areas, attacking without discretion until they were tranquilized or simply _put down_ in the interest of saving the tranquilizers for the humans- something Beast Boy had taken particular offence to. Rats chewing through underground electrical wires had been the cause of many of the power outages in the larger cities, as well as severe damage to gas and waterlines- not to mention they were attacking people and other animals in some areas. It had become clear with each passing minute that _something_ was causing the strange behavior, but the cause had yet to be identified.

Meanwhile ParadoX, who had been relocated to Steel City, was under the guard of Raven, Mas, and Menos while the Titans East scattered throughout the city to address problems as they arose.

"Red alert!" Bumble Bee's voice called out from Robin's communicator. "U-T-L Speedy! Repeat, Speedy is gone!"

"Ten-five," Robin growled into the machine, receiving only static until he spoke again. "What's going on down there?"

"Speedy was clearing out the cistern after a fight broke out. We sedated everyone, but then - I don't know, he went to check under and aqueduct and came out swinging. I tried to talk some sense into him, but he attacked me! Before I could sedate, he got me with a spinning kick. By the time I came to, he'd bolted!"

"Raven, can you use your magic to find him?" Robin spoke quickly into his communicator, noting the small nod from the Dark Knight, as if he concurred with the decision.

"I don't know," the empath replied. "If his mind is disturbed like the others that have been affected, it will be hard to reach him. Besides, he's always been thick headed."

"Try it and report back. Bee, do you need me to call Star back to Steel?"

"Negative. I found his trail and I'm pursuing. He won't get away from me this time."

"Ten-Four," Robin's brows were tightly knit and his grip over the communicator was bordering on painful. "Keep me posted."

He sunk back in his chair and grit his teeth. With such random and hard hitting attacks, it seemed impossible to trace the source, and it seemed more and more unlikely that a single villain was behind it. A disaster of that magnitude took immense planning and calculation to take root and grow into such chaos.

"Root…" Robin murmured as a thought suddenly hit. He reached forward to the screen embedded in the back of the pilot seat. In a moment's time, he had pulled up the map detailing the Yggsdrasil root system that had caused the terrible earthquakes not long before. He tapped on each of the cities where the roots had been kept, reading over the details of each file and mentally comparing them to the current situation.

"Batman," he said, his voice serious, but lightened with the determined relief that hit any hero during a breakthrough. "I think I've found something… The pockets of violence are occurring in cities where the Yggsdrasil Syndicates were cultivating roots."

"The roots were in nearly every major city in the world," Batman told him bluntly. "That's not exactly a hard correlation to make."

"But the violence in most areas has been contained to the locations where the roots were located. And look at the affected population. Most of them are homeless, or gangs or maintenance workers that would have access to the _underground_ spaces where the roots were growing. And _rats_ have been the most heavily affected animals."

Batman took a moment to pull the information up on his own screen. "You may be on to something," he said after reviewing the information. "Looks like you'll get your wish, then. We're going straight to Arkham."

* * *

Poison Ivy pursed her lips at the sight of the young hero, tapping a painted nail against the metal table of the interrogation room. "Well, well. He's grown into something, hasn't he?"

Robin kept his mouth shut, trying not to breathe the thickened air that Ivy always carried with her. It was warm and sweet, and _very_ enticing. There was always something about the woman that made him both at ease and on edge. She was much smarter than most men anticipated, and far deadlier, too. Robin knew that, and he knew better than to underestimate her.

"Tell me about the World Tree," Batman spoke with his usual deep voice, not a hint of humanity or excitement in his tone, despite the deep scent in the air that Robin knew he was not immune to.

Ivy hardly gave The Dark Knight any attention, keeping her eyes focused on the teen, as if to lure him in. "Press a little closer, little nightingale," she cooed and Robin rolled his eyes, recognizing the reference.

"Speaking of Wilde," he crossed his arms, smirking. "Why don't you tell me what's making everyone and their dog go crazy?"

"The _tree_, Dr. Isley," Batman pressed, his patience thinning.

"You might as well tell us before he starts weed-whacking the yard," the teen suggested with a smirk, actually earning a little smile back from the villainess. She recognized that the teen's jokes and flirting were frustrating the Batman, and seemed to appreciate the entertainment.

"I think he'll find the dandelions have a mean _bite_ if he does that," she flirted back innocently, her chest out and flawless smile perfectly in place. "But I might as well tell you, hadn't I? After all, there is _nothing_ anyone can do to stop it now."

Robin sighed, prepared for a monologue. Batman held very still, listening with a cold intention.

"Yggsdrasil was a test. I wanted to see if humanity would take the necessary steps to protect a _precious_ and _delicate_ species. The tree was a _marvel_, but it needed constant care." She looked almost forlorn for a moment before she straightened and continued, "I appointed the Norns in key locations to protect the roots and keep them safe until you pathetic humans could decide if you would _embrace_ or _eliminate_ the tree."

"You were destroying cities. Killing innocent people," Batman growled. "That tree was putting our entire world in jeopardy."

"Clearly, you and I have very different opinions of what defines a _world in jeopardy_. Humans chose to destroy the tree, just as they destroyed the world." she smiled darkly and her pretty eyes narrowed. "The roots shriveled quickly after the Norns could no longer provide their care, but on the shriveled mess of humanities' blunder grew a perfect absolution. Unique to the roots I created is a toxin that causes extreme cognitive disturbances in a variety of _mammals_. I cross-bred the species with fungus that proliferates on the shriveled roots of the World Tree. The fungus _collects_ and _concentrates_ the toxin into spores. Inhaling or otherwise ingesting these spores leads to uncontrollable aggression, insanity, and, if we're lucky, _death_… The Norse knew how to harvest the toxins carefully, gathering them from many sources and boiling it into a powerful draught that put them in a rage before battles, made them so bloodthirsty that they bit at their shields like mad dogs. They _died_ _like dogs_, too."

"How do we stop it?" Robin asked, disgust on his expression, but fear hidden under his mask as he thought of Speedy.

"You don't," her eyes grew brighter, more vicious. "My form of the toxin is stronger, more resilient, and cannot be diluted. Humanity failed its final test and deserves expulsion. Slowly and surely, the toxins will spread wider until no mammal is left standing. Meanwhile, I will enjoy watching the humanity rip itself apart. I think it's a fitting end."

"We'll _burn_ the roots," Batman sneered, finally showing emotion, though Robin recognized it as a tactic for drawing out clues. He was working by process of elimination, taking out the obvious false-solutions before arriving at something more workable.

"The spores will survive, carried in the smoke and lifted above ground. Good luck with that," she calmly smiled. "You could drown them, I suppose, and poison your water. Herbicides will have absolutely no effect, naturally, the roots are already dead. And the fungus has been genetically altered in my lab to withstand fungicides. There is no way to _kill_ or _control_ this outbreak, Batman. Even if you _do_ find a way to eliminate _some_ of the spores, you'll never be able to contain them all. The roots of the World Tree _thrived_ under every major city held dear by humanity." Her smile darkened as her eyes grew brighter once again. "The reign of man is ending, gentlemen, and it is by man's own hands that it falls."

* * *

"I'm going to see him," Robin said as the door to the interrogation room closed. Ivy smirked complacently through the tiny window, looking rather amused with the situation.

Batman let out a small snort. "Now is not the time, Robin. We need to take care of those spores before more people are infected."

"Exactly," Robin glared, marching forward with resolution. He'd taken a quick peek at the security cameras when they'd arrived, scanning the many rooms and occupants until he noticed Slade. The villain's arms had been folded over his chest and eye closed. His torso lifting and falling in a steady breathing pattern, one that would give the impression of sleeping. Robin certainly hoped none of the guards would take that stance at face value.

He had passed several guards already; they had simply stepped aside for Batman and his _side-kick_. Robin seemed to remember something like that happening long ago, but the slight fear in the workers' eyes told him exactly how Batman had come to run Arkham Asylum since he'd left.

"The man has a wealth of knowledge on artificial intelligence drones- which cannot be infected by the spores, and nano-technology- which might be able to stop them," Robin said as he walked. "Don't you think Slade would be willing to barter for his freedom at a time like this? Or at least that he would be willing to help save the world if it benefitted him?"

"I think Slade is a villain mastermind that- **_if_** he even agrees to help- will exploit his involvement to his highest advantage."

They entered the cell block where Slade was being kept, and were immediately met with muted voices of the incarcerated, calling out to the heroes, beating fists against the unbreakable glass doors. The block was designed to reduce noise, and it did the job well, but it was obvious that their presence caused quite a commotion. Then they reached Slade's cell. His eye was open, but little else had changed, he sat there calmly, his breath steady and the slightest glare of a smile rested on his features. His bed was hardly more than a metal slab that was bolted to the side wall, on the opposite side was the camera that Robin had spied him with earlier.

"Unlock the door," Robin called to the guard on duty, who gave the man inside a cautious leer before grabbing his keys.

"Robin," Batman called, his voice careful enough that the younger man dared a glance at his former mentor; meanwhile, the guard paused to watch the exchange. "I won't stop you from speaking to him, or asking for his assistance, but you realize that compromising with Slade will be the end of his capture, don't you? This is the first time you have Slade exactly where you want him. He's _vulnerable_, Robin. If you go in there, you're giving that up."

Slade quirked a brow from behind the glass, obviously having read Batman's lips.

"I've seen Slade at his weakest," Robin said, turning to watch the villain, who was watching back. "We walked together through Hell. There is nothing so _desperate_ as that place, and no moment where Slade was more _vulnerable_ than on that day. If you believe Slade can be kept here, and that this _cell_ makes him vulnerable, then you really don't know him at all." He turned to the guard. "Open the door."

"You can't change him, Robin," Batman tried one last time to stop the teen. "And you can't expect that he will help just because it would save his own skin. He'll help you at your highest price and nothing less."

Robin let out a small, incredulous laugh as the cell door opened. "He's not _my Joker_, Batman. I have no _illusions_ that I can help him—I know better than that. I learned the hard way that _masked men_ are the first you want to change, and the last that ever will."

* * *

Robin heard the sound of the door closing and automatically locking behind him. He didn't bother to turn and acknowledge the guard or Batman, as both waiting behind the glass for something to go wrong. He looked up at the camera, calculating silently as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Slade Wilson," he said calmly, perfectly aware that the recorders in the room were picking up on his voice. He also knew that the angle of his body in relation to the camera prevented the video recording from following his finger tip as it bounced against the inside of his arm. With his back turned to the glass and cape draped over this shoulder, Batman and the guard could not see it either. "I've read your files."

Slade kept his eye on the young hero's face and his attention on the green-clad hand. There was a begrudging expression playing over his features, but inwardly Slade smirked at the boy's cleverness as he tapped Morse-code against his arm. He was actually quite proud of the boy's deviance. Each tap was a resolute middle-finger to Batman's legacy. He was fraternizing with the enemy right under the very nose of authority.

_'C-A-M-E-R-A W-A-T-C-H-I-N-G. D-O-N-'T F-U-C-K U-P.' _The fingers spelled, making the villain actually snort and unfold his arms, resting them against the metal bed frame. Both Batman and the Guard tensed when he moved, something that Slade liked.

"I'm sure you have," Slade responded. '_D-I-T-T-O.'_

Robin gave a tiny smile at the soft tapping of Slade's finger against the bed. Like his own actions, they were hidden. He tapped and dragged his finger against the metal with movements so subtle that they could not be seen, and the sound quiet enough that the recorder would not register them.

"I'll cut to the chase," the hero spoke and continued to tap his finger. "The world is in grave peril right now. You have the means to save a lot of people, and maybe cut down your time in here as well." Slade raised an eyebrow when he realized the teen wasn't just blowing smoke to buy time. His words were just as important as the code he tapped against his arm. '_X T-O-L-D M-E E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. T-A-L-K. **N-O-W**.'_

Slade stared back at the hero, eye sharp and calculating. Robin could only hold his breath and hope his bluff would work.

"I'm listening," the villain answered with an unreadable expression and stilled hands. "Start talking."

Robin glared at the absence of the code as he began to explain the situation with Ivy. Meanwhile he tapped his finger angrily. '_T-R-U-E, T-H-E-N?_"

'_Y-E-S._'

The gentle tapping almost broke his concentration, but the teen managed to listen and continue speaking, explaining his plan to use the Slade Bots to seal off the spores until they found a way to destroy them, possibly with nano-bots, if no better solution could be found.

'_W-H-Y?_' Robin asked, glad that his mask hid the nervousness and pain that made his vision blurry with tears. He wasn't surprised, really. He knew Slade couldn't be trusted. He just _wanted_ to trust him. _Badly_.

'_S-T-U-P-I-D Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N._'

'_T-E-L-L._' Robin wanted to scream, but reserved himself to the gentle tapping. The truth of Slade's betrayal stung worse than he thought it ever would. He had hoped- in no small measure- that ParadoX had been lying to gain leverage. He should have been thankful that Slade didn't try to bluff his own way out of the lie, but in all truth… he might have preferred a lie.

It was Slade's turn to speak, he gave the Batman a smug expression through the glass, speaking so the hero could easily read his lips. "Sending your _boy_ in to negotiate?"

'**_T-E-L-L._**' Robin kept his face as even as possible, but he knew Slade could see his shaking hands and trembling fingers.

"I'll need _supplies_ if I am to help with your little weed problem," Slade was talking to Batman, still speaking through code. '_G-O-T-H-A-M H-A-R-B-O-R. S-L-O-T 1-4-3.' _A smirk appeared on his features. "Bruce Wayne can help with that. We can use my bots to set the traps. We soak the roots in Xenothium and then ignite an implosion with Nihilithium. _Boom_, nothing left." _'L-E-F-T, L-E-F-T, S-T-R-A-I-G-H-T, L-E-F-T, '_ "Do we have a deal?" Robin listened closely to both the words and the sounds, turning to look at Batman when Slade suggested his plan. '_C-O-D-E: Q-W-P-D-G-X._'

Batman shook his head and glared through his mask, mouthing "_No deal_."

'_G-O-T I-T_?' Slade asked, watching as Robin turned his visual attention back from Batman.

"Got anything else?" the young hero asked in a piercing tone, giving Slade a clear indication that they were done talking.

"My offer stands, take it or leave it."

"Stupid question," Robin frowned, making a gesture with his hidden hand that needed no deciphering. "We're done here."

Slade gave a light chuckle as he leaned back, closing his eye and tapping one last message, abbreviated to a procedural signal because the door would soon be open '_UNDERSTOOD_.'

* * *

Batman said nothing as the door closed, giving his ward an evaluative look. The teen merely nodded to the guard and turned towards the exit, not waiting for Batman to follow him, though the man did so almost immediately.

"Well, at least he gave us some ideas," Robin said curtly.

"Ideas that just happen to play right into Slade's hands. He's been trying to secure Nihilithium for some time now."

"And Nihilithium is…?" The younger hero asked as the metal bars of the cell block were opened for them.

"I'll give you the file," the Dark Knight answered, and Robin had to bite back a scathing comment about _actually_ sharing information. "But we're going to avoid using the substance, if we can help it."

By the time they reached Batman's jet, the sun was gaining a strong foothold in the sky, doing little to actually warm the icy city.

"I was impressed in there, by the way," Batman said carefully as he climbed into the pilot seat. "You held your own against Slade and didn't let him get the upper hand."

Robin kept his jaw set and looked to his former mentor. After a few moments of silence and the decision that there was nothing more to say, he simply gave a tiny nod and took his seat as well.

* * *

Robin looked to his communicator anxiously. It was three-minutes to 9:00pm. That meant his shift was ending very soon and he would need to turn in his oxygen tank at the base and wait out a mandatory six-hour rest period. Or, at least that's what he'd _agreed_ to. He had other plans, however, and he meant to keep them.

The Wayne Medical Research Building had become the unofficial home base for the task-force put together by the Gotham Police Department. Groups of officers and soldiers patrolled the city in a controlled pattern to subdue anyone that had come in contact with the toxin, meanwhile, Batman and Robin took to more dangerous areas, clearing them out before the regular task-force could enter. The mayor had issued a home lock-down, something that many citizens, villain and victim alike, did not always seem to grasp, but things were at least under control for the time being.

Other cities were not so fortunate, but League members were stationed there to hold extreme crises at bay. Jump had been one of the least hit areas, something that Robin was grateful for, because they were down two members. Speedy had eventually been captured and put under a heavy tranquilizing drug. He was recovering, slowly, in the at the Titan's East Tower. He was no longer violent, but he was terribly weak and spent most of the time slipping in and out of mild comas and high fevers. The Titans found that his unconsciousness to be a blessing because, whenever he awoke, he was in a great deal of pain and still seemed to be in and out of his mind. Raven watched over him while he slept, gently prodding his sleeping mind back into place.

Before Robin knew where his feet were taking him, he found himself at the front desk of the newly established headquarters; he had already signed in his oxygen tank with a single '_R_' and had it whisked away in a flurry to be filled and reused by the next round of officers.

"Break room is in back. First come first served for the bunks," Gordon said, cleaning his glasses on his shirt before placing them back over his eyes. "Good to have you home, son. The city feels brighter with you in it."

"Good to be back, Commissioner," Robin lied. "Unfortunately, I'm heading over to Steel City until morning. I've got to rendezvous with the Titans East, so I'll be heading out."

"Right now?" he asked, looking a bit fatherly and worried.

"Don't worry; I'll avoid the hot zones. We've got them pretty well mapped by now." He pulled out his communicator and demonstrated the truth behind his statement.

"Still, I hate to send you out unprotected. Take one of the tanks."

"I couldn't," Robin began to protest but the white haired man simply held up a dry, well-used hand.

"I've got a daughter about your age, you know?" He asked, his expression looking somewhat distant. Yeah, Robin _knew_. "She's living out of town now, going to college…" Robin didn't correct the man by telling him that Barbara was, in fact, in Downtown Gotham helping with restraining the infected by taking them down. "Sometimes I forget how old you kids are… and sometimes how young. I watched you both grow up."

"Gordon, call for you on line three," one of the volunteers manning the phone boards called from across the room and the hero felt a wave of relief. He'd had enough of monologues for one day.

"Just take a tank with you, son," he said patting Robin's shoulder and walking away. "A small one, at least."

"Yes, sir." Robin answered, nodding gratefully to a worker that plopped one down in front of him. No time like the present to get the hell out of dodge.

* * *

When Robin reached the docks, he didn't know just how grateful he would be for the oxygen tank. Slot 143, he found, contained a small yacht that would be suitable for overseas travel of small groups. The teen checked the log and The League's database, surprised to find that Slade owned a boat in the harbor- but not the one in slot 143. Very likely, this was a simple distraction on the man's part, something to keep The League from getting too suspicious if he spent longer amounts of time there.

He searched through all the rooms of the boat, peeking inside cupboards and through drawers until he found an insulated diving suit that would fit a man like Slade very nicely. It was his boat, alright, and that meant one thing: he was going for a swim.

He walked to the side of the boat, shining a flashlight over the rail and swallowing hard as the light bounced off the murky water. His suit offered some manner of insulation, but it would still be a dangerous trip. He would have very little time to find whatever it was that he was looking for.

"Fucking Slade," he muttered, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and filling it with water from the tap. He half expected the boat to be dry, but he supposed that Slade had to keep a good get-away boat nearby at all times. Made sense. He smelled the air and froze with a displeased look on his face. The boat was stocked and functioning, all right. But it hadn't been used in years by the look and smell of the water. Damn, he'd hoped he could drink something hot before jumping in. He shook his head wearily and grabbed hold of the oxygen tank. It was small and not particularly designed for diving, but it was better than nothing. He ripped off the mask portion of the device and grabbed a bit of duct tape from one of the drawers he'd ransacked and got to work creating a make-shift mouthpiece and a harness to keep the tank attached as he swam. He scrutinized his workmanship for a moment. Like a regular mouthpiece, his contraption would help to keep all his oxygen from escaping at once, but it was a far cry from a sturdy replacement. He rolled his eyes. In all likelihood, he would need to get out of the water long before he would run out of air, anyway.

"Fuck," he muttered again before turning on the oxygen flow and taking the plunge over the side of the boat.

A few feet under the water, and many degrees below pleasant, Robin longed to swear again, only louder and perhaps with even stronger language. There was a brief moment where his body protested at the stinging cold, almost forcing him to the surface before he regained control and willed himself to go deeper. He did his best to keep his breathing steady, trying not to bite too hard on the duct tape and to breathe out his nose.

The light he carried did little good in the thick, dirty water, but he continued to kick his legs furiously, using the slick concrete wall to occasionally steady himself as his body's natural buoyancy fought to drag him upward. He could feel his body shaking from the cold, something that happened almost instantly after diving in. It was actually something of a comfort; after all, it was when the body _stopped_ shaking that things went downhill. He made a pained sound as the pressure began to hurt his head, pounding against his ears and making his chest seize slightly with each breath.

Robin promised himself that he would not go much deeper, that he would turn back when the danger became too great, but he knew he was only lying to himself. The idea that Slade was lying about this place, that nothing was really there, certainly crossed his mind, but the hero dismissed those thoughts in a haze of determination. He wasn't sure _what_ he would find in that miserable abyss, but all signs pointed to something big, and he wouldn't give it up.

His gloved fingers caught the edge of a drainage outlet and he pulled himself down quickly, ignoring the sound of protest that escaped his throat when the pressure on his ears became almost unbearable. He swung his flashlight to look into the duct, peering into the confined space but finding that the water prevented him from seeing anything worth noting. At least at first glance…

He ran his finger over the algae, finding it well attached to the surface of the concrete tube. It stuck straight up in most patches, save for a few spots that had been scrapped away and regrown some time ago. Robin steeled himself and entered the outlet, knowing that the tube did not serve any legitimate purposes for Gotham; if it had, the algae would have lain flat, pushed down by the current of water that drained from the city. He paused when he reached a fork, remembering Slade's directions and staying left. He followed the tunnels, guided by his memory and a determination.

His body was shaking less, something he vaguely noticed behind his blind stubbornness. He forced himself to shiver when he remembered, but when he reached the end of the tunnels his mind was far from his own perseverance.

It was a dead end. Well, not quite. There was a large round grate that covered the passage, something that looked like a waffle-pattered man-hole cover that was common place to most cities. He looked around the confined tube, finding no apparent way to open it and no place to enter the code Slade had given him. _Fuck_. He let go of the light and pushed against the door with all hit might, kicking at it a few times, only to drift backwards under the force of his own exertions. Robin let out a frustrated yell, sending bubbles flurrying through the water before he grabbed a hold of his mouthpiece and jammed it back into place.

Damn Slade to Hell! He punched the grate, silently thankful that the water reduced the impact of his blow, before he a deep, steadying breath from the mouthpiece and mentally prepared to leave empty-handed. There might be a way past the grate, but it really _was_ getting too dangerous to stay. His body hardly shook any longer, and when it did it was out of anger not cold.

Robin growled and picked up his light, noticing something peculiar about the frustrating metal disc as the beam ghosted over the surface. He leaned in closely, examining the surface and feeling his heart leap. Inside the small squares of the grate were small, lightly raised symbols. They were covered in algae, but that cleaned off easily enough. The point is they were _there_. His eyes brightened in relief, thankful that it was not a wasted trip… at least until he looked closer.

Damn Slade, _indeed_. Robin remembered the code for the English, but he wasn't entirely sure he could encipher it to _Greek_. Asshole. Even behind bars and in the face having all his nefarious plans brought to light, it felt like Slade was playing tricks, expecting the hero to join in on the fun of his puzzles and mind-games.

'_Q-W-P-D-G-X,' _Robin repeated in his mind, tapping the code out before each letter before quickly finding and pressing the buttons to the best of his knowledge. '_Psi. Omega. Pi- No! Rho… no, Pi!_" Robin caught himself before pressing the incorrect key and growled. That was a close call. He wasn't sure if an incorrect entry would lock him out, and in any case, he needed to get out of the frigid water. He was slightly better prepared for the final symbol _Ksi_, and felt immense relief flow through him when a loud click echoed through the concrete tube. He pushed the door forward, and pressed on.

The end of the tunnel was found soon after a 90-degree corner that forced the hero to swim upwards to the dimly lighted area above. It was a small room, clearly designed as the airlock to drain the water. He pulled the hatch down, letting it close under its own weight and activating the drain system. He settled on the floor as it drained, feeling numb and clumsy as he struggled to turn off the oxygen flow of his tank. He _felt_ fine, but knew it was a delusion brought on by hypothermia. He needed to get out of his wet clothes, find a way to warm up.

Allowing himself only a few moments rest time, he soon forced himself to his feet and stood before a small door with a turn-style knob that reminded Robin of a submarine he and Batman had once raided. The wheel turned after a screech of protest. Clearly it had not been oiled for some time, but Robin reminded himself that Slade could probably turn the knob with his pinky, well-oiled gears be damned.

Robin soon found himself in yet another small room with an identical metal door on the other side, a large metal cabinet fixed to the wall, and a steel showerhead hanging from the ceiling. "Cozy," he muttered, stepping inside and nearly jumping when water began to pour down from the faucet and a fan began to circulate warm air. The shower was not, _at all_, what Robin considered hot or hardly warm, but considering he had just been in a great deal colder water, it felt fucking delightful. He recognized that the small room was probably designed to help Slade recover from the cold, not to mention wash off the filth from the river. Robin didn't mind peeling off his own uniform and rummaging through the steel cabinet for a collection of meager, half-used toiletries.

The water was, painfully slowly but surely, heating up. Robin tried to help the process of heating his own body by shivering, something that was ironically easier to do now that he was out of the cold water. He preferred not to think about how cold he'd actually gotten and simply opened his mouth under the stream of slightly warm water, finally getting the warm drink he'd tried for on the boat.

He took a few moments to clean his uniform, really just letting the water run over it, and then braid his hair back so it would not make him colder as it dried. He was not sure exactly how long he'd been in the shower, but once the steam began to play against on the stainless steel cabinet, he reluctantly decided it was time to press on. He gathered his clothes from the floor and turned the wheel-knob of the next door, effectively turning off the shower. Robin frowned at the fact that he was impressed and slightly envious of Slade's efficiency and dedication to procedure. It was clear the man was careful in his design of this base, and that it was designed to be _used_.

The door opened to a narrow passageway, obstructed partially by another cabinet where Robin found soft, clean towels and a few extra sets of clothes that were clearly not his size. He dried himself with the towel, pleased to find that the air duct in the shower room was still billowing out hot air, which he used to his advantage by hanging up his uniform where the air would dry it. He debated with himself for some time about dressing in his still wet uniform, bargaining back and forth about the need and the danger of wearing the wet materials after having just dried off. In the end, he settled by simply slinging his utility belt over his chest and continuing down the narrow hall.

The hallway was not long and ended with another door. Robin could feel the hair rise on the back of his neck as his fingers curled around the wheel and pulled the door open. He held his breath as he entered the room, watching as the lights flickered on automatically and computers hummed to life.

It was a lab; that much was clear as Robin peered around the room. The space was not particularly large as it was rather crowded with devices and storage, but there would be enough room for Slade to move around freely. Metal cabinets, large than the ones before, lined many of the walls, and there were five large metal tables spaced evenly through the room. He spotted a ladder that went up to the ceiling and ended in a small door hatch. Robin studied it closely, almost on the verge of cursing Slade's name for making him take the long way in before he noticed the wires attached to the edge of the door. It was rigged to blow and flood the lab if an unauthorized entry was made, but from the looks of it, it could be temporarily disabled for a quick exit. Robin swallowed hard, looking around the room with renewed animosity. Slade went through a great deal to protect this place. But what was it _for_?

He began to walk forward, but froze when his eye settled on the closest table and the items that were littered across it. He was looking over what could easily be mistaken for Batman's arsenal. Bat-a-rangs, grappling guns, cords, smoke pellets… It was all there, laid out like a science experiment or precious collection. He looked to the next table, feeling his chest constricting when he recognized his own items laid out in a similar fashion. He walked closer, picking up a bird-a-rang and swearing. This didn't look like one of his. It _was_ one of his. He remembered using it long ago during a fight against Cinderblock; he had lost it in the skirmish.

The hero took in a shaky breath and swallowed the lump in his throat. Sometimes, it was easy to pretend or ignore what a devious man Slade was… but Robin could practically _feel_ the villain in that space and he was reminded painfully of just how diabolical that man could be. It brought back the same hatred from his apprenticeship. Hatred, and great _fear_ of the lengths Slade would go to get what he wanted.

"Stop."

Robin jumped, hoping that he had only imagined _Batman's_ voice echoing from somewhere in the lab.

"Get down on the floor."

"Oh, fuck- oh, fuck!" Robin whispered, looking around wildly for his mentor. Had Batman followed him? Impossible. Unless… was there a tracker on him? No, couldn't be! He'd checked! Shit! _Shit!_ He needed to hide.

"GET DOWN!"

Robin pulled open the door to a metal cabinet, intent on sneaking inside and hiding, or pretending to be kidnapped, or drugged, or _something_ when Batman found him. Instead of sliding inside, he bumped against a glass wall. It must have happened very quickly, but to Robin, the moment felt like several, excruciatingly long moments of pure confusion and panic. He let out a silent gasp as his heart jumped into his throat. He took panicked step backwards, catching a heel on a thick line of bundled wires and feel backwards with a loud crash that he didn't even feel. He was far too focused on the terrifying fact that Batman had been locked inside the cabinet, trapped behind a glass wall, _the whole time_.

Wait, that wasn't possible... Batman was still working on patrol; he was clearing out the subways last time Robin checked. Even if he had followed him, there was no way he could have gotten ahead of him… The teen swallowed hard once more, staring at the Dark Knight and wondering just what the hell it was.

"Batman?" He asked carefully.

"State your name," Batman spoke, eyes glaring down at the naked hero. Robin took in a deep breath, looking over the man's uniform, a perfect replica of his current outfit. How long had Batman been using that uniform? Three years, at least.

"Shut up!" Robin heard another voice and felt a cold rush run down his spine. He stepped over the next cabinet, pulling open the doors and gasping as his doppelganger stared back at him. It was a younger version of himself, dressed in Slade's colors with hair spiked and teeth bared.

"Oh God," he gasped, taking a step back and bumping against the table that held his tools. A rush of nausea went through his stomach as his head swam. "What the hell is this?"

"Who the hell are you?" The young Robin asked, folding his hands over his chest and apparently glaring under his mask. "And why are you naked?"

Robin glanced down, finding that, indeed, he was quite naked. He was suddenly regretting his choice not to put on the sopping wet uniform. "What are you?" he asked, staring at the two creatures with disbelief and disgust.

"I'm Slade's apprentice," the young Robin growled. "And when he gets back, he will _kill_ you."

"That is not Robin," Batman claimed, sounding rather outraged at the thought. The younger doppelganger merely rolled his eyes.

"No, _I'm_ Robin," The real Robin stated, turning his attention to Batman. "Now what the hell are you?"

"Robin…" the Batman seemed to hesitate. "Prove it. Tell me something only you would know."

"If only _he_ knows, how would _you_ know?" The apprentice chided.

Robin's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your name is Jason Bard."

The Batman seemed to consider the statement for a moment. "Alright then, where do I work?"

"Gotham City Police Force." It wasn't a total lie. Jason Bard _was_ a member of the force. Had been for years.

The doppelganger nodded, "Alright then, one more question to prove it. What's _your_ name?"

Robin's eyes narrowed, and suddenly the pieces began to fall into place. "You don't know, do you? You didn't even know your own name."

"Of course I do. My name is Jason Bard. I live on 4579 Whittman street, apartment 509. I've been on the force for five years, dated the Commissioner's daughter- What I _don't_ know is why _you_ won't confirm your identity."

"It's a _program_." Robin snapped, more to himself than anything. He recognized the pattern of artificial learning. The Batman robot had simply integrated the information he had in his database with the new information that was given to him. Slade, apparently, had made some guesses as to who the Batman might be and paid special attention to those that seemed plausible.

"Correct. And very well made, if I do say so myself." Slade's voice made Robin turn, hatred welling up in his throat. The man was still dripping from the shower, but he at least had the decency to throw on a pair of lab pants. The teen wondered briefly if the Slade before him was also a robot and if the man was really still in Arkham. Likely not. The city was still in utter chaos, it was probably easy for the man to break out. Slade motioned to the Batman casually, "I designed that one to infiltrate the Justice League, trick them into revealing their identities… of course that was contingent on discovering that Batman is Bruce Wayne."

"Bruce Wayne? The billionaire?" The Batman android glared at the villain, seeming to ponder this new information.

Meanwhile the apprentice unfolded his arms and bowed slightly as he greeted his teacher. "Good evening, Master."

"A shot in the dark, really," Slade continued, "exposing weaknesses within the group and discovering League member identities... As you can imagine, this knowledge would lead to a wealth of opportunity for blackmail and perhaps even disbandment of The League. Not to mention what I could do to heroic reputations if I created androids that mimicked other heroes." He turned and nodded to the younger-looking robot. "Apprentice."

"Are you going to kill him, Master?" the boy asked, with a slight hint of glee in his voice. He was still beaming from the acknowledgement.

"No, I think not," he responded and the young robot looked sullen. He turned back to Robin, motioning to the young looking robot as he began to speak again, "I built _this_ as a prototype soon after your apprenticeship. His personality is a bit off, I'm afraid; I never bothered to correct it. The latest version is closer," he motioned to the rows of cabinets that had yet to be opened. "But I soon decided that nothing would beat the real thing," he eyed the hero dangerously.

"You unbelievable bastard…" Robin shook his head in disbelief, feeling like acid was churning in his stomach. "I… Oh, God, Slade, what have you done?"

"I admit, I got carried away with the designs. I was distracted by the details and lost in the challenge. In reality, the plan was a poor one. The likelihood of success was marginal. I eventually decided it was more dangerous to proceed and potentially lose this technology than to scrap the project entirely. I abandoned this lab some time ago. Soon after our little tryst on the top of Jump Bank, and not long before ParadoX stole my fleet."

"Abandoned?" Robin fumed. "This does not look like you've _abandoned_ anything, Slade! The lengths you've gone to for thi-" He paused, looking horrified. "Oh God… That's why you… why you chose _me_, isn't it? And why you _seduced_ _me_. It was just the next step in your plan, wasn't it?"

"Part of it- before we actually slept together- yes." Slade admitted, his face unreadable as he walked to stand in front of the false Dark Knight. "The programming would be stronger if I found things that _only you two_ would know… Exploiting you was the best option. You were wound _so_ _tight_, Robin, bound to snap one way or another. You needed a release more than anything, and I was _well equipped_ to give it to you." Robin's lips curled, but he stayed silent. Slade paused for a moment, giving the teen a chance to retaliate; when no such thing occurred, he simply continued. "I planned to seduce you, fuck you, lure out every little secret you had to offer, and program it in to the memory bank. Once that was done, I'd set your robot on Batman, study him more closely than I could as a villain. Then, once I learned how to access The League, I would replace Batman as well."

"Replace? You mean _kill_." Robin's breathing was reduced to short gulp-like gasps as he tried to prevent the panic in his mind from spreading.

"I hadn't decided on Batman, yet. But I planned to keep you _contained_ until I had a better use for you."

"I can't believe you…" Robin looked sickened. "After everything… the contract, the-"

"As I said," Slade interrupted, his eye stern and piercing in the harsh laboratory light, "the project was abandoned before the agreement was in place. I have remained loyal to the contract."

"Oh, right. _Of course_." The hero scoffed. "How _stupid_ do you think I am, Slade?"

"I expect that you're smart enough to put the pieces together and find that I'm telling the truth." Slade's voice was calm and dark, evoking memories of Robin's apprenticeship in both men- something that did _not_ quell the building rage and tension. The villain gave a small sigh. It was inevitable that Robin would find out, and Slade knew that he would, one way or another… Nothing to be done about it now, he supposed. Best to try and convince the hero that he wasn't lying with what little proof he had… "Apprentice," he called and the young doppelganger stood to attention. "Remove your mask." He turned back to Robin, "I'd tell the Bat to do the same, unfortunately, there's _nothing_ underneath his at the moment. I can't build what I can't see, and I doubted that anyone in The League had seen him mask-less either. My mistake."

The apprentice robot followed his command without question, revealing a pair of dark brown eyes that glared forward.

"Brown eyes…" Robin breathed carefully, remembering Slade's words when they first stood unmasked.

Slade nodded and moved to the next cabinet, opening the doors and motioning for the hero to come closer for a look.

Robin balked at the site. Inside the cabinet was a robot that more closely resembled his current look. It was standing perfectly still with eyes closed, long black hair braided neatly back in place, and naked save for a thin, grey pair of briefs. There were no scars on it where the true Robin had them, and it lacked the two piercings that Slade himself had given him.

"Open your eyes," he commanded and the robot inside did just that, revealing a similar, but darker pair of brown eyes that glared back at Slade with unbridled malice before shifting to Robin. The thing looked confused for a moment, but then shifted its expression to hatred once more. "I had replacement lenses, of course, just in case I was wrong. Naturally, none of them would match the blue in _your_ eyes. Had I continued my plan, that little detail would have been changed immediately. As would your scars and piercings." Slade put a hand on Robin's shoulder, letting it drift across his skin. The teen tried not to squirm when Slade's fingertips ghosted against several scars on his torso. "I'm well acquainted with your body, Robin. If I wanted to, I could make this robot your equal in every look and motion."

"You're a monster," Robin whispered very quietly, not sure if he was going to cry, become ill, or go into a rage. His skin felt hot as the blood rose to the surface, but a deep cold was running through his body.

"Never said I wasn't," Slade replied, resting his hand on his hips and gazing at the creations. Robin recognized that look in his eye, it was one the villain frequently had when he looked at something he found… _useful_. As if he was evaluating the potential of whatever it was he was looking at and plotting how best to utilize it. The appraising eye shifted back to the hero. "I encourage you to keep in mind that it was _my_ suggestion to form a verbal contract. I never would have agreed to anything so binding had I not already given up on this plan."

"I don't believe you," the hero hissed between his teeth. "All the _time_ you must have spent on these… _things_… All the _money_, _research_… _resources_… You wouldn't throw that away. Not for something as simple as… as _getting laid!_"

Slade laughed one of his deep, unpretentious laughs that always sent goose-bumps over the hero's skin. "Who are _you _to say what would and wouldn't be done in the pursuit of gratification? Is it so hard to believe that I found _fucking you_ to be a better use of my time?" He leered as if smelling blood in the water. "And haven't _you_ ever stopped to wonder what _you_ _would have done_ had I not suggested the agreement? What if I'd played hard to get? How far would you have followed me into the darkness? How much sooner would I have known your identity? _Batman's identity_?"

"I _never_ would have-" Robin started in a bitter defense, tears finally breaching his eyes. He bit his tongue harshly and dug his fingernails into his skin. He _would_ have betrayed himself and his loved ones. He _already had_.

The villain gave a small shrug and a victorious smile. "Seems we're both willing to push beyond our respective boundaries a bit. And all for- what was it you said? To _get laid?_"

"Fuck you," Robin sneered, backing away from the man in an effort to gain some distance. "You think I would have slept with you if I'd known about _this?_"

"Don't blame me for your choices," Slade growled at him, seeing a clear advantage and taking it. "You know exactly what kind of man I am. I'm not the one that compromised your beliefs. I didn't _force_ or _threaten_ you this time. I simply offered and you followed. You _chose_ to _be fucked_ by me."

"Is that true, Robin?" The Batman asked, its voice stoic but with hints of pain in the tone.

The teen glared back to his case, knowing full well that the _thing_ inside it was not Bruce. The real man would not show that kind of emotion so readily… and yet, Robin's heart dropped into his stomach as he watched the man… _thing_… appear to struggle with the thought. It was a far cry from the dream he had where Batman _rejected_ and _cast_ _him out_ in front of The League; but this, watching Batman react to his betrayal with pain instead of anger, somehow felt more_ real_ and more _terrifying_.

"Why don't you tell him?" Slade smirked. "See what it feels like to admit to him _and to yourself_ that after everything I've done, and all that I _could do,_ you _still_ _chose me_. Better yet, why don't I just fuck you against his case? We'll make him watch… just like you wanted."

"Stop," the hero half hissed, half begged. "Just stop."

"Why should I?" Slade smirked. "You didn't."

Robin only stared at the Batman, his eyes wide and teary. Slade was right. He'd let this happen, let Slade take him _over_ and _over_ again… and he let himself be taken in. He'd crossed the line, gone too far… and now… There was no more concern of finding his way back. No tepid delusions of pulling away at just the right time. No hope left to reclaim himself from the terrible darkness that settled around him.

The hero didn't flinch when he felt Slade's hands wrapped over his arms. It was a gesture that felt too familiar, and Robin knew he had only himself to blame for that.

"Do you want pain?" Slade asked openly, his fingers massaging the base of boy's shoulders and his arms, digging into the warm skin. "I can give it to you, Grayson. You know only I can..."

Robin clutched the belt that was slung over his shoulder, trying to decide his next move amidst the haze that clouded his mind. He exhaled a shallow, shaking breath and felt as if his entire body was becoming empty. _Desperate_.

Slade blinked at the very sudden and ferocious attack. He managed to avoid taking the bird-a-rang in his only eye, but in doing so, he sacrificed a secure footing and earned a deep gash across his temporal and a large knick out of his ear. Apparently, Robin noticed the foothold because his next attack was aimed at Slade's ankle, kicking it further off balance and forcing him to grab hold of the edge of a metal table behind him. Slade let out a growl as the teen lunged forward, but saw an opportunity to a strike by grabbing back of the teen's head and slamming him into the table, earning a very satisfying sound.

The room became darker and significantly more fuzzy when Robin's nose and forehead collided with the metal surface. Slade held him there for a moment, pressing him down and leaning in to, no doubt, make a very poignant statement about the hero's sloppiness. Not very keen on listening to a lecture, Robin managed to lift his leg up for a decent scorpion-kick that made the villain lose his grip. Robin stood and immediately sputtered as blood began to drip from his nose. He wasted no time on it, though, and took on a fighting stance, ready to strike.

Slade had been careful with his blows, making certain not to break anything, but he felt a rush of pride and arousal as his enemy, lover, and former apprentice stood boldly in defiance, blood dripping down his chin and looking _very_ pissed.

"Stop this, Slade," The Batman growled, his fists crashing against the glass. "Let him go; it's me you want!"

Slade laughed, mocking Robin by not taking on a defensive pose or even bothering to attack. "Personality seems a bit off on this one, too. Seems that I might have made him _care_ too much... What do _you_ think?"

"SHUT UP!" Robin snarled, pulling a grappling gun from his belt and taking aim squarely at Slade's chest. The bastard dodged, naturally, letting the grappling jam itself into the glass of The Batman's case, sending cracks all through it. He smirked as Robin dashed forward again to attack. In his hands was a long, jagged picklock with a corkscrew tip.

"Interesting choice," Slade mused, "What do you hope to achieve with that weapon?"

"Fuck you, Slade!" Robin snarled as he lunged forward, watching Slade's eye darken with cruel intent. "Just _DIE_."

It was clear the man knew his next move, so the teen thought nothing of clutching the handle as tightly as he could and thrusting it forward towards Slade's heart. The villain's eye narrowed, lips curling lightly into a triumphant smile that seemed to last forever in that mere fraction of a second when the twisted end of the device plunged easily into Slade's chest, sliding between the man's ribs. Robin could feel the flesh yielding to the make-shift dagger, tearing muscles and cutting ever deeper until his hand was flush against man's chest.

The hero stood transfixed to the spot, not breathing, as Slade's expression melted into a pained sort of victory. He lifted his large hand to the wound, pushing Robin away as he did so.

"No," the hero breathed, knowing what Slade meant to do and what it would mean.

In one swift tug, Slade pulled the lock-pick from his chest. Blood poured down from the wound, soaking the man's chest and trousers in red. He gave a small choking sound and a forced smirk as he felt his heart bleeding out very quickly. He'd managed to help along the process by shifting slightly during the attack, ensuring that his ventricle was torn open. He wasn't particularly happy about experiencing death more than once in a single day, but the look on the hero's face was priceless. Slade gave himself a haughty little congratulation as the room spun and he fell to the floor.

The room was silent for innumerable moments.

"You killed him…" Batman's voice was cold and disbelieving as he peered between the cracks of the glass. "Robin… what have you done?"

"Bastard," Robin whispered, his face turning a dark shade of red as his body shook with anger. His eyes were fixated on the blood that began to puddle around the man. "You _BASTARD_!" He kicked the limp body, watching as it swayed with the force of the blow. Another kick, and another, forcing the man over on his side until his body tipped and Slade rolled onto his back. His eye was dull and slightly open as Robin stomped on his chest, nearly slipping in the blood. "_YOU_-_FUCKING_-_BASTARD_!" He slammed himself over Slade's body, straddling his waist and punching him on the cheek until his hand throbbed in pain.

"_Robin, STOP_!" Batman yelled, hitting his fists against glass, testing different spots for weaknesses.

The Apprentice was screaming, too, becoming more and more desperate as his Master bled over the floor. Meanwhile, the older doppelganger looked genuinely horrified, but remained silent with dark eyes wide in fear and fascination. It was clear by his expression that he was repulsed, angry, and scared, but he dared not turn away.

"You could have stopped me!" Robin sneered, wrapping his hands around the Slade's neck and pushing as hard as he could. A thick line of red dripped from the corner of the older man's mouth as his eye rolled back. Robin only growled and shook him as hard as he could. "This is what you _wanted_, isn't it? You fucking _bastard! _You wanted me to _kill_? To _fall_? To be _just like you_?_"_

Robin snarled when black-gloved hands grabbed his wrists and jerked him away from Slade's body. He hadn't even heard the glass breaking, nor sensed the Batman android coming to him. Lost in his own rage, the teen snapped to attention, spinning to free himself before he set his attack on the robot.

Robin calculated his moves in his head, deciding very quickly that the robot probably had the same weak points as the normal Slade Bots. He pulled items from his belt and the nearby tables, taking careful aim and striking quickly and with deadly accuracy. The Batman hardly defended itself against Robin, making the teen wonder just what in its programming caused it to hold back. He couldn't imagine the real Batman doing so.

Robin stopped only when the _thing_ was on the floor, oil spurting and winding gears exposed. He stood over it, vision blurring and darkening periodically as he fought the dizzying sensation that usually preceded fainting. The robot lifted its head wearily and reached out a hand as if begging for help. The hero stared blankly at the proverbial gesture that had always evoked his deepest heroic instincts. It brought back painful flashes of memory. His mother reaching for him with fear in her eyes, nameless victims begging for help, Starfire reaching towards him as the nanos corrupted and killed her… Slade recovering from a similar fate…

"S-s-s-s-orry," it glitched, mouth not moving as the sound came through a broken and crackled transmission. "Couldn-n-n-n't help you."

"I don't need your help." Robin growled as he pulled another grappling from his belt, aimed it between the pair of shrouded robotic eyes, and fired. He stood over the two cadavers, chest quivering as he dropped the gun and fell to his knees. He gasped for air, body quaking as the room spun around him. He wondered in a panic if something was wrong with the oxygen flow of the small, sub-ground chamber, feeling as though his sharp, fast breathing did nothing for him. His head lulled to the side, vision darkening as he edged into unconsciousness.

"You're the monster," he heard his own voice calling to him. It was not a taunt, but a genuine statement of horror. He shifted his bleary eyes to his robotic twin, swaying as he forced himself to stand. The hero staggered forward, each step sending needle-prick pain from his feet up his legs until he stumbled, hands catching on the glass of his doppelganger's cell and smearing bloody handprints over the surface.

"Aren't we all?" he whispered with a quiet, shaking chuckle as he gazed into the dark brown eyes. His own blue eyes rolled slowly to the side as he stumbled over his own heels and began to fall. He was not conscious when he hit the floor.

* * *

The smell of coffee made Robin's eyelids flutter. He let out a soft groan began to roll over, only to have a warm hand hold him down against the metal table where his body rested. His eyes slowly opened to Slade, freshly showered and in clean lab pants, sipping coffee from a white mug while he stared back down at him placidly.

"Looks like you're not unconscious anymore," The villain eyed him listlessly between long sips of coffee. "And you're a hell of a lot calmer to boot."

Robin shifted his eyes to stare back up at the ceiling, watching as the pipes and wires blurred in and out of focus. He felt slightly nauseas, dizzy, and only vaguely aware of where he was and why. He shifted lightly, eyes widening at the sound and feel of the thick, padded straps that held his wrists and ankles against the table. Slade noted the short gasp that escaped the teen and raised a brow, watching him more closely as the blue eyes darted around the lab and then over his own body at the wires and EMG pads that were stuck on his skin. The teen's breathing quickened at the sight and he began thrashing, trying desperately to remove the devices.

"Untie me- I can't- I can't breathe…" the hero spoke quickly in low whispers, fighting against the bindings and peering haphazardly around the room.

"You're going into shock," Slade said rather plainly and without emotion, his eye turning analytical again as he watched over the hero. Perhaps he'd over-estimated the teen on this one. He assumed Robin had given him a few extra blows after he'd fallen dead on the floor, then turned on the Batman android to blow off some steam, only to receive a nasty jolt from the exposed electrical wires of the robot. It was nothing unusual, in Slade's opinion; to let out some pent-up aggression with a little recreational bloodshed, and Robin, who clearly despised killing, had some convenient targets that were either not actually living or practically immortal… or at least that what Slade had thought…

"Slade, untie me," Robin begged, tears running down his face, "Please, I have to… I have to get out of here."

"You wouldn't last in those pipes," Slade told him, perfectly aware that the words were hardly reaching the boy. "Not until you calm down, anyway."

"_Please!_" The hero cried out, thrashing against his bonds, making wild, terrified noises as his eyes darted wildly around the room.

Slade dared a glance at the computers, studying the teen's vitals in the fraction of the second taken by the look. No grave danger, but his blood pressure was definitely showing signs of distress. He set the mug of coffee aside and cupped the teen's face in his hands, leaning in closely and speaking very clearly to the hero. "Take a deep breath, Robin."

"I- I can't," Robin breathed between gasps that gave him only fractions of the oxygen he needed.

"_Breathe,_" Slade commanded harshly, sliding his hand behind the teen's head and pulling roughly on his hair. Robin took in a full, deep gasp of air, eyes shifting to Slade with expectation hanging like the tears clinging to his lashes.

Slade gave a cruel little chuckle, he'd seen that look before. The pleading _need_ to be touched. _Tortured_. Of course Robin wanted pain _now_ and not _before_ he'd bashed a very expensive robot to smithereens. Still… There was something else to the look, a different kind of desperation…

Robin stared at the villain as he leered over him. The teen's heart slowed to a more normalized pace as he watched Slade's expression shifting; he wore the same look as in the library, cold and knowing, as if he could see inside the teen's brain and knew exactly the thoughts and wants that passed through it. And just like in the library, Robin's pain gave way to clarity, memories falling into place and feelings growing mute under the firm and persistent touches.

Slade didn't wait this time, and he didn't make Robin beg. One hand still held a firm grip over the black hair, but the other drifted to the teen's chest, looping a fingertip through the gold ring and pulling it slightly, making the nipple perk. The hero gasped softly, his eyes wide as he arched his chest in pursuit. Slade gave a cruel little smile and twisted the ring, enjoying the way the hero cried out and hardened, forcing a thin pearl of precum to gather at the tip of his erection.

Wasting little time, Slade's hand moved down and took a firm grip over the teen's length, giving it a few good pumps and grinding his thumb against the tip as the hero moaned and writhed against the table. The straps around Robin's ankles prevented him from spreading his legs very far, and the little groan made it very clear that he wished to do just that. Rather than unbind him, Slade released his various grips over the teen for a moment to unfetter the lock on the straps and slowly push Robin's ankles towards the top of the table, making the straps glide along the sides, following a built-in track. The teen let his legs follow the slow and deliberate force, swallowing hard when the pushing began to border on uncomfortable and Slade locked the straps in place.

The villain glanced at the screens again, checking Robin's vitals before admiring his handy work. The hero lay flat against the table, his arms bound above his head so that his torso stretched in a pretty display of lithe muscles under young, tight skin. His legs were spread apart and bent hard at the knee, exposing the more sensitive areas of the hero's anatomy and leaving him open to any attack, be it benign or malicious. The villain smirked when he noted a tiny twitch in the teen's length. A thin vein had appeared on the side, provoking an irresistible desire in the villain to return to an old game. He pulled open a drawer and pulled from it a thin metal rod. There was a small hole on either side of it; were Robin in a better state of mind, he would have wondered what purpose they would serve in the robots. Slade, who _was_ in a better state of mind, felt that Robin would get much more use out of the device than any of his robots.

His hand cupped the teen's jaw with an iron grasp, forcing his mouth open and sliding the rod against the wriggling tongue and to the back of his throat. Robin's eyes widened slightly, his pupils constricting and growing in what might have been surprise, yet it was impossible to decipher and actual expression. Too many emotions- fear, apathy, arousal, loathing, yearning- clouded the meaning behind the look, if there was one there at all. Robin obediently closed his mouth around the thin metal, understanding its purpose without the slightest command or explanation. Slade took his time pulling the piece from the teen's mouth, slowly drawing it out from between the slightly puckered lips until the whole thing sprang free and he released his grip over the teen's jaw.

Robin's body twisted against the table as his eyes tried to follow the metal rod when it drifted over his chest, lower and lower until he could feel the tip teasing over the head of his cock and playing in the precum. He held his breath, feeling the pressure building as he watched the thin metal slowly disappearing inside his cock. He could feel the metal tugging at the sensitive insides of his shaft, burning slightly as the metal moved deeper and the saliva dried and was absorbed by his body. Slade leered over him, innately aware of how much pressure the teen could stand, knowing just where to touch, and when, and with how much force.

The room hummed gently with the active machinery and dull lighting, monotony broken only by the almost indistinguishable sound of both men breathing carefully, each lost in a personal trance. Robin's lips were lightly swollen and still colored in a deep blush from his earlier tantrum; they quivered eagerly with each little breath. His eyes were wide and glassy, focused on Slade's mouth as it curled into the familiar, devilish smirk.

Like a strike of lightning to a darkened sky, a painful truth and clarity struck Robin's brain. Invasive, unavoidable thoughts of how wrong it was to do this, how wrong it was to _want_ it, flooded inside. His brain screamed at him to stop, but his body overruled and kept him silent. He knew that pain was coming. That he could drown in it to forget the terrible things he'd done. And yet… under that desire to hide was also the need to _expose_ himself to the treachery he'd committed. As if accepting punishment was enough to gain absolution and clarity. The dichotomy clashed in his mind, but brought to light one very simply truth: Pain was the answer. He was sure of it.

Robin swallowed hard at the lump in his throat as he watched Slade climb onto the table and lower his head, smirk vanishing between his legs. The teen's eyes grew wider, when he felt a slick tongue mockingly glide between his cheeks and play around the shivering opening before drifting up and teasing his frenum. Robin's cock bounced against his stomach smearing precum over the blood and oil coated skin. Slade noticed the reaction and smirked once again. He pulled back momentarily, grabbing a line of micro-thin wire from a nearby shelf and looping it through the gold nipple rings and the hollow slot in the makeshift sound. He tied the wire in a sturdy knot, forming a careful loop that ran from the teen's chest to erection. Slade's expression darkened as he took a firm grip on the tip of the sound, plucking the wires and making the teen gasp when the gold rings jutted forward with the force, pulling on his rosy nipples until Robin let out a tiny, helpless sound.

The older man gave a small chuckle as he released the wires and the drifted back to the pert ass, pressing against the sensitive bud with the tip of his tongue until the muscles relented and the slippery appendage curled inside. Slade wriggled his tongue a few times, pushing himself deeper but then pulling back and teasingly flicking his tongue against the entrance once more. Robin gave a frustrated mewl, playing exactly into Slade's hands when he tried to scoot down and accidentally created too much tension in the wire, pulling at both the sound and the nipple rings. The villain rewarded the pain with a rough chuckle and a firm grip on the teen's cheeks, spreading him wider and sliding his tongue back inside for a few quick twists and thrusts.

Slade couldn't help but admire the teen's body as he worked, bemused at the way his cock twitched and bounced, pulling the wire taught and making the hero cry out with a furious blush on his cheeks. Every now and again, Slade would rise and pluck at it, just to watch the way the pretty chest rose and fell with the pain. Best of all was the way the perfect blue eyes shined under the tears and frustration, wavering constantly between the desire to avert his eyes and an inability to look away.

Robin groaned when fingers joined the tongue, sliding further inside and curling to press against the teen's prostate. Meanwhile, Slade's free hand crept up, taking a firm grasp on the teen's shaft and running his thumb over the balls as they tightened. Slade's fist pumped slowly, tugging at the skin on Robin's length and occasionally pulling up to listen the hero gasp at the tension caused by the line. His thumb kept a close gauge on the teen's balls, feeling them twitch and tighten as the teen neared climax.

Robin's breath felt thick and warm in the sterile lab, creating a dizzying effect that he was happy to lose himself in. He tried vainly to fully immerse himself in the pain and the pleasure, willfully ignoring how desperately part of his mind begged him to stop. Slade was a killer. A liar. A villain. Robin knew better. He knew better than to trust Slade and to _want_ him, but the other part of him, the _darker_ part that now refused to deny the most basic human desires, screamed out so madly for his touch that all reason fell mute. It hadn't always been like this, Robin knew. He used to be able to control that want- that need to be known, to feel, to be human. Slade changed that in him, ripped away his perfection and replaced it with humanity.

Slade's hand pulled fiercely on the teen's balls, enjoying the way the teen screamed and writhed, accidentally pulling out the sound by a good quarter inch.

"You were about to cum," Slade purred viciously, breaking the silence with a dark tone and dominating leer. "I don't believe I gave you permission." His eye raked down the teen's body, appraising the flesh before slowly pushing the sound back into place.

Robin only gazed at him silently, waiting for the next move, for the next pain. To his displeasure, Slade instead released his grip on the teen's balls and ran a finger over his cheek, an intimate gesture that the hero did not appreciate- especially when he realized that Slade was wiping away the tears that left warm, salty trails in their wake. Robin hadn't realized he was crying.

"Be careful, boy; I'm starting to like this view." The man smirked and lifted the tear-stained finger to his lips, licking them with a devilish smirk. He had realized it moments before, the keen look in the blue eyes had returned sometime between the sounding and the rimming. Robin had worked his way out of the dizzying bog brought on by his earlier panic. It was time to test the water. "What? No witty retort? No 'shut up and fuck me?'"

"I preferred the silence," Robin said weakly.

"Do you?" Slade asked, reading the subtle agony in his voice and the fear in his eyes. "I can see that pain hiding in your features, Grayson. I know how loud that silence rings in your ears."

"You know me so well, don't you?" Robin laughed painfully, almost sounding relived as he actually felt the tears falling from his eyes. "You do. You've always known what I wanted… what I _needed_."

"Not always, no." The villain gave him a thoughtful look, hard and calculating, but still with the appraising edge of curiosity.

"Do you know what I need right now?" the teen whispered a soft question, struggling to meet the man's eye.

"I know what you want," Slade purred, his eye narrowing slightly in a way that bordered on erotic and trespassed on hostile.

"Punish me?" Robin feigned a smile, but it was hardly convincing. "I want to be punished… to feel the same pain you felt when… when I killed you…"

"_Pain_ is just a means to the end," Slade gave a small genuine smile, not at all the forced expression of his partner. He looked the teen over, carefully, and the smile faded with his voice. Suddenly the vague and unidentifiable expressions Robin had given since waking up had an agenda behind them. He understood what they meant. "And _ending_ _it_ is what you're really after_, isn't it?_ You want _out_ of our game…"

Robin stared back at him, surprised at first that Slade could so easily reach inside him and pluck out the thoughts he meant to hide, but the surprise faded quickly, leaving him with a numb gratitude that Slade had seen it so easily. He swallowed carefully and gave a single, slow nod, not daring to take his eyes off the villain.

Likewise, Slade kept his gaze firmly on the teen. His face was calm, but he could feel his blood pressure rising. Ending the contract was, although half-expected, a risk that Slade had not fully explored. It was inevitable, in one way or another, that their contract would end, but… Slade's eye fixed into a glare, one that the teen seemed to recognize, but did not react to.

He _knew_ this was not the end, just a temporary reprieve… Robin wouldn't stay away from him forever. He _couldn't_. There was too much to go back to, too much to _want_. Too much to _need_… Still, it hurt Slade's pride- no, _pissed him off_ that the teen was so ready to cast him aside. He couldn't help but feel some bitter resentment and perhaps- if he could stoop to admit it- _which he could not_- pain at the realization that he could not stop Robin if he truly wanted to end the contract, and that no amount of skill or effort could give him what he wanted. His hubris had cost him many things in life: his youngest son's voice, the trust of his wife, his eye, his oldest son's life… But Robin… he wasn't one to fall into that list… Slade would never allow that…

"I can see what you're thinking, Robin, one last fuck before you walk away and leave all this behind. But you know that's not enough. Pleasure soaked in pain isn't enough right now, and it won't keep you away."

"I know… I just wa-"

"What you _want_ is to be tortured. Go beyond the point of pleasure, take you to the darkest place imaginable and leave you there to be reborn into your former self. Cold. Emotionless. Void of _pain_, and _pleasure_, and _happiness_ because all you know is _fighting_ and _hate_."

Robin gave a small breath through his nose, eyes filling with tears that silently fell down his cheeks as the forced smile fell to pieces. Like so many times before, Slade read him like a detailed map, leading him to exactly where he needed to be, or worse… where he wanted to keep away from. The hero's nose wrinkled slightly, and his upper lip curled as if he felt a sharp pain move through his body. Mental pain as it moved into physical sensation was almost unbearable. Slade knew that kind of pain well.

Slade's voice softened, looking down at the quivering body. "You want a reason to keep going... But I can't give that to you. That's not something anyone can give. No amount of pain will _fix_ you, Grayson."

"Try," the hero pleaded. "Please try, Slade. Please. I know… I know that this wasn't… that _I_ wasn't something... But please, if you care at all… I _need_ this. I need to _hate you_ again. You're the only one who can see inside my brain. You're the only one that can _break me_ out of it. I can't do this anymore, Slade. I can't keep letting you win. I'll end it one way or another, but just… just once more… please make me _hate you_ again."

Slade remained quiet, placing his hands on the side of the table and breathing slowly as he studied the body before him. "This is the last time, then?" he asked in a low and dangerous voice. Robin nodded, but Slade made it a point not to look him in the eye until he asked his next question. "And the contract? Do you intend to break it?"

"If it means stopping you-"Robin started but stopped coldly. His shifting expressions vividly demonstrated his inner conflict. "I don't know…"

"You better decide quickly," Slade's voice was the darkest Robin had ever heard it. Not a chord of empathy could be found in the tone, and almost immediately, Robin felt his blood chill. "Because I warn you: If you chose to cross me, to betray the _trust_ I've put in you… I won't rest until I've returned the favor _six-fold_."

Robin swallowed hard, blue eyes lightened by the bloodshot glaze as he gave a gentle nod. He understood. Six-fold. One for him, for Batman, and for each member of his team.

Slade stepped off the table, silent once again as he unlocked the shackles that bound the teen's wrists and ankles. Robin stretched his legs against the metal, spreading them slightly as his eyes timidly glanced over Slade's body, waiting for the inevitable strike. He kept his hands above his head, not daring to resist whatever pain came for him. Slade merely loomed over the hero, eye dark, angry, and calculating.

Robin watched, feeling his body beginning to shake as the man stared, gaze fixated on his chest for an unbearably long period. His unease grew in the silence, listening only to the buzzing lights and the sound of his pulse drumming in his ears. Perhaps he'd asked too much of the man; after the connection they shared… physical, mental, and… emotional. Robin was so fixated on himself that he hardly considered how far past the line Slade himself must have crossed, how much he might have compromised himself and his safety to maintain the contract. Was it wrong to ask that of the man? Perhaps, yes… After all, Slade wasn't _truly_ a monster…

"Slade," Robin began softly, a hand moving towards the villain.

The hero gasped as Slade caught him by the wrists and violently pushed his arms back into place, grinding the base of his hands into the table. "Don't touch me," He growled dangerously, leaning in so that his face was hardly an inch from the teen's. "The only _intimacy_ we'll share tonight will be the manner in which I break you." He pulled back slightly, pausing long enough to stare into the blue eyes, reading them for any misunderstanding, any doubt or hesitation. Robin only nodded solemnly and Slade continued, "You will remain silent. Save for any involuntary _sounds_, I expect that you will hold your tongue and _not speak_. Failure to maintain control will result in punishment, the severity of which shall be left to my discretion. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Robin spoke very softly, before the back of Slade's hand collided across his cheek. He looked back at the villain in shock as the pain spread and throbbed over his face.

"_What part of that order did you not **understand**?_" He asked with a seething sort of calmness as his free hand clasped the boy's cheeks. He paused once more, voice still cold, but not nearly as vicious. "There is one exception to this rule…" his hand released the boy's face and drifted down, fingertips playing against his neck with varying pressure. "If you wish to _stop_, just say so… and I will immediately stop. We will go our separate ways, and I'll see you again only when our _masks_ are firmly back in place. Do you understand?"

Robin nodded eagerly, holding his tongue between his teeth.

"Good boy."

Slade climbed back on the table, pushing Robin's legs apart. The teen's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the man's length, he wondered briefly when Slade had removed the flimsy lab trousers, but that thought was quickly forced away when he felt the head of Slade's cock pushing against his opening. Robin gave a sound of protest when Slade began to push inside; his length was dry and the little saliva that remained from the rimming was not enough to prevent the hard, burning pull against his skin. The teen gazed pleadingly at Slade, not daring to utter a word, but Slade merely stared back with a cruel expression and continued to slowly force himself inside.

Releasing his grip over the teen's wrists, the villain grit his teeth and grabbed hold of the slender hips, forcing himself completely inside and enjoying the way the hero's screams echoed inside the small laboratory. The pleading blue eyes, once fixed on him as if begging for reprieve, turned to the side and clenched tightly shut, leaking a few tears down the reddened, salt-stained cheeks. Slade allowed himself a private frown, but he was never one to do things halfway. Reservations or no, he continued his work.

Robin clenched his teeth as the villain pulled back and slammed into him once again, feeling the pressure building back in his stomach as his own length began to harden. He wearily forced one eye open, daring a glance at Slade and feeling a shiver run down his spine when he found the man was staring back at him, glare fixated as his hips grinded against the teen. Recognizing the small change in the hero, Slade gave a cruel smirk as his gaze drifted down to the hardening length. His hand closed around it briefly and Robin moaned meekly when he teased the surface with his fingertips, starting at the base and slowly working his way to the top where he flicked at the sound. The teen responded with a helpless whimper and a slow throbbing of the vein on the side of his cock as blood pumped into his growing erection.

Slade answered his response by grasping the tip of the sound in his fingers and pulling it clean out. Robin cried out in surprise and pain, his erection dwindling for a moment before returning with full force, leaking a precum stained with a pearly-pink hue.

"Your body seems to operate under the misconception that you will find pleasure in what I'm going to do to you." Slade licked his lips, ripping off the electrode pads and throwing them to the side. He then twirled the sound between his fingers, winding the string around it and pulling until Robin followed the force, sitting up and groaning as the villain pulled himself out and coerced the teen to change positions.

Robin watched in silence as the man reclined against the table and placed one arm behind his head, looking rather smug as he held the sound in his hands like a pair of reins, effortlessly guiding the teen into place over his legs.

"Fuck yourself on my cock." He glared, giving the makeshift reins a hard flip and glaring with vengeful pride as the teen moved over him.

Robin glanced at Slade carefully before spitting in his hand and rubbing it on the man's length, he did his best not to grimace at the thin layer of blood as he moved his hand over the surface, Slade noticed anyway and pulled harder on the line, lip curling spitefully as he did so. The teen tried to move carefully, slowly easing himself on the length and enduring the burning pain. Slade kept pulling on the reigns forcing him lower until, apparently losing patience, his hand crashed down on the teen's thigh, knocking him off balance and forcing him down against the man's hips.

"You heard me." Slade growled once again, his voice empty of the usually playful tone that Robin hardly noticed until it was long gone.

Robin sucked in his bottom lip, releasing it instantly when he realized it was still splattered with stale blood and half-crusted machine oil. He gave a slow nod before closing his eyes and moving his hips. Slade took a moment to enjoy the long, heavy drag of the hero's ass sliding over his cock. He didn't let the slow pace last long, and soon he was thrusting hard against the table pushing Robin's hips against him as hard as he could and savoring the way the teen whimpered through the pain. Soon his eye drifted down, resting on the teen's erection as it twitched and dripped down the tip. A cruel smirk and but a moment later, Slade's hand closed around the teen's shaft, squeezing and twisting until his partner let out a tortured scream.

"Ask me to stop, Robin. Just say the word, and it's over," Slade spoke in a low, predatory growl, sounding as if he was mere inches from the kill.

Robin bit his tongue, tears streaming down his cheeks as he shook his head and grimacing when Slade's hand twisted on his length once again.

"More then?" Slade asked, the question hanging in the air like a threat. "Alright."

Robin let out a panicked cry when Slade pushed him off the table. His arms and legs scrambled to help him control the fall, but he still landed hard on the floor, his arm crashing hard against the corner of the nearest table with an ominous crack.

"Sounds painful," Slade glared, stepping down and leering over the teen. "Get up."

Robin's lips quivered slightly and the man's eyebrow quirked, waiting for the inevitable plea to end their game. He was only mildly surprised when the teen nodded and stood, body quivering as he kept his eyes at Slade's feet.

"Such a waste," Slade said smoothly, lifting the hero's chin and glaring into his eyes. "All this strength, this _power_. And yet you hold it in for the sake of… what? Your _ethics_? Your _upbringing_?" His eye looked the teen over, studying him, and then a dark, toothy smile crawled over his lips. "But you and I know better, don't we? You've seen what it's like on the other side; you know how thrilling that darkness can be. You enjoyed _stealing_ for me as an apprentice, _lying_ to your friends just to be _fucked_ by me… And when you discovered my plan… I'm willing to bet you liked the feeling of taking my life." Robin shook his head back and forth, and Slade gave a cruel smirk. He hid his bluff under his flawless confidence and watched the hero struggle to find the truth within himself. Although he had been quick to disagree, Slade could see the fear and the confusion hidden in his eyes. "How did it _feel_, boy. Did you _like_ it? Did it _turn you on_?"

"Slade-" Robin pleaded, his lips and eyes forming a disgusted expression as his voice begged for the man to stop. He gasped when Slade once again grabbed hold of the wire that hung from his nipple rings, feeling like he'd swallowed a knot as the man glared at him dangerously.

"Unless your next word is '_stop_,' I urge you to shut your mouth," he hissed and Robin nodded. "Onto your punishment, then…" Slade grabbed the teen's throat and gave it a little squeeze, forcing him to walk to the tiny little chamber that had previously held the Batman robot.

Robin frantically shook his head and gave the man a pleading look that was all but ignored.

"What? Don't like it? We could just fuck on the floor next to the remains of my android. You're already coated in blood and grime, what's a little more?" He didn't wait for Robin to respond, only hooked his hand under the teen's thigh and pressed his hips closer, sinking inside the teen with an insatiable glare. "You asked me what I would have done to The Bat if I'd gone through with the plan…" Slade's voice was calm, broken periodically as he delivered hard, deep thrusts. "I wonder what would be the more _humane_ option. Keeping him _locked_ in a chamber like this, watching the _slow and agonizing_ break as he realized that things like _escape_ and _salvation_ were not coming? Watching him _wither away_ until there was nothing left to save… Or perhaps _freezing_ him in ice, like you did the _Brotherhood_?" Slade gave a small, joyless laugh. "I never understood that with you heroes… You won't kill, but you'll sanction endless torture and suspension of existence. I guess it doesn't matter if the punishment is _like_ death as long as you don't have to sully your hands. Never mind the inevitable thaw and resulting chaos, death, and hatred that they unleash. No, no. That's not _your_ fault. You did _your part_ to stop them. Everything you could… Except the _best_ and most _permanent_ solution."

Slade pulled back, wrapping a hand at the base of his cock and squeezing to prevent his own climax. He lifted the boy's chin again, smirking benevolently.

"What? You don't agree?" He asked and Robin pursed his lips in response, letting his eyes drift to the side. Slade used a cold, somehow soothing voice as he spoke, "Speak, Robin. I won't punish you for speaking on _this one_."

Robin hesitated for a moment, mentally untightening his throat and barely managing to whisper, "That's pretty bold talk for a man that won't _stay_ dead."

Slade gave a small, genuine chuckle, but the humor did not reach his eyes. "Touché, Boy Wonder." He reached for the sound dangling from the wires and pulled the line forward as he lifted his knee up until the teen's stomach was flush against his thigh. He then ran a hand over the teen's bare ass. "Perhaps I should have been clearer in my authorization of your words… True, I would condone your speaking… that _attitude_ of yours, however," Slade lifted his hand and brought it down hard against the teen's ass, "is going to cost you."

Robin flinched as Slade's hand crashed against his behind. The strikes were hard and fast, leaving a stringing pain over his skin that soon gave way a burning throb. He managed to hold back the sounds of his discomfort until the more brutal hits or when Slade surprised him by jamming his fingers inside and pulling him up with a growl, as if insinuating that the teen was trying to escape his punishment by bending his knees and slouching.

Robin wasn't sure how long it lasted, but when Slade finally lowered his leg, the teen fell to the floor, body shaking with a furious blush on his cheeks. The villain gave a leering smirk and nudged the teen with his foot, trying to get him to turn over, but Robin only scooted to the side, trying to avoid the touch altogether. Not appreciating the gesture, Slade looped his foot under the teen's stomach, more or less kicking him against the wall.

He didn't bother to give a smirk at the painful little blush that lit up the hero's cheeks as he righted himself, nor his erection as it proudly stood to attention against his stomach. Slade merely glared down at the teen, watching as he cradled his broken arm and deciding his next move.

"Get up," he said coolly. "Time to wash that filth off of you."

Robin nodded, rising to his feet in a dizzy and painful sort of lull. Still blushing, he tried subtly to cover his groin as he walked, but Slade grabbed him by both arms, jerking them out of place and behind the teen's back as they marched towards the shower. The villain coldly ignored the growl of pain from the teen as his broken arm was squeezed and twisted until they entered the small chamber and Slade gave him a rough shove against the wall. He closed the door, activating the shower system and making Robin balk at the cold water rushing over his body.

The teen mindfully held his arm to the cold to reduce the swelling. He noticed a dark, straight line forming on the skin above the break and let his mind focus on it, reveling in the pain that was so simple and understandable.

Slade, meanwhile, watched the teen's back from the doorway, noting how the hero studied his wounds and wondering if he looked at other battle scars with such relief and reverence. The villain folded his arms over his chest, watching the teen start to shiver, but doing nothing about the temperature, which he naturally could have adjusted, had he actually wanted to.

Slade was angry, he realized, and that anger frustrated him. Of course he'd known all their secrets would come out eventually. _All of them_. But the mere recognition of that fact was hardly enough to fully understand the true impact of loss and _losing_.

Slade nondescriptly opened one of the cabinets and threw a container of industrial soap at the teen, letting him read between the lines. Robin bent forward slowly, picking up the soap and working over the blood and oil caked on his skin.

"Do you really think it will be so easy?" Slade called over the sound of rushing water some time later when the water had warmed and the grime had more or less filtered down the drain. Slade's narrowed eye focused keenly on the back of the teen's neck as he marched forward and wrapped his hand around it. Robin did not react. "What makes you think that you can walk away from this _unscathed_? You can _pretend_ to walk in the light again, but we both know better. You've been hiding in shadows for too long. You know too much pleasure, too many secrets that the darkness hides... and you've made a few of your own. You're a part of this darkness just as much as it has become a part of you…" Slade's grip on the neck tightened, as a heavy hand pulled the lithe hips back against his erection. Robin didn't make a sound as Slade entered him. The man sneered at the back of the hero's head, making sure that he pushed inside painfully slow, letting his cock pulse and feeling the slight twitches of pain from the hero.

Robin closed his eyes, letting Slade's fingers coil around his throat and squeeze while his other hand wrapped around the teen's length and twisted it in his grasp. He did his best to ignore the man's words, but he felt each one cutting into him, bleeding him dry. He told himself it was part of the process, some purging of the sickness and lust that drew him to Slade; he needed to hear those words, the promise that he'd fail, that Slade would win in the end. He needed that. He needed something to hate, to fight against. Slade's hips slammed repeatedly against his backside, and he bit his lip, choking back the sounds of pain and want that filled his chest painfully.

"Don't forget that _I_ _built_ the hero you have become. I gave you _purpose_. _Skill_. _Power_. Slade noted the helpless cry from the teen's throat and sneered, feeling the teen's length as it neared orgasm. He tilted his hips cruelly, fucking the hero in a way he knew to be painful and glaring when the helpless cry gave way to a strangled hiss through Robin's teeth. With a snarl, he pulled out, flipped the teen around and shoved him against the wall before sinking into him again. "Look at me," Slade growled cruelly. "And don't you dare look away."

Robin held his breath as he followed Slade's commands, waiting for the feeling of hatred to crawl inside him, burn at him like it had before. Slade's hands held his arms uselessly against his own body, paying no mind to the painful break as he fucked the teen. Robin's eyes filled with tears as he stared imploringly at the villain, searching for catalysts hidden inside the pain and the fear.

"Mark me, Grayson." The villain kept moving, pushing the teen harder against the wall and glaring. "You'll suffer in the light. _Burn_ under it. And when the time comes, you'll fall into back the shadows. Back to **_me_**."

Robin wanted desperately for the acid sensation to wash over him again, to take away the pain and leave him immovable, inhuman. He craved to be empty, to feel nothing when he looked Slade in the eye, when he saw himself in the mirror… But that hatred refused to come. Not when Slade thrust so deeply inside him that it hurt, crashing his lips against the hero's as he came. Not when Robin, in spite of himself, orgasmed against Slade's stomach.

Slade pulled back, letting the teen fall to the shower floor and turning towards the laboratory door. His back rose and fell with his breath, wet skin glistening with each movement. "You'll be alone in the light, you know that, don't you?" He asked, almost evenly. "Your team… they need too much support on their own to possibly be of any _real_ use to you. And your mentor?" Slade laughed, placing his hand on the door's turn wheel. "_You_ may have chosen me, but it was _Batman's lies_ that drove you to me, _Batman's legacy_ that kept you _silent_ when you could have set a trap to capture me. You chose to follow me into the darkness, _used_ the fact that you might discover my identity as an _excuse_ for your betrayal. You came into the shadows of your own will… but you're only fighting yourself as you draw back from them. You know that there is no one in the light that you can trust- that _trusts you_ enough to let you be the hero you strive so vainly to be. There is nothing waiting there for you but _pain_ and _loneliness_."

As the water poured over his body and Robin struggled to sit up, he wondered silently how much of that was true… and perhaps how much of it was spoken from experience…

"Slade," Robin called, sitting up and cradling his arm, tears streaming down his cheeks. The man paused, but did not look back. The teen held his breath, unsure of what he should, or even _could_ say to gain some sort of closure, some sort of peace, or anger, or _anything_ that led him away from the heavy feeling in his chest. He struggled silently for a moment, finally managing to mutter an empty, "I'm sorry."

"Enjoy your time in the light; we're done here," Slade replied smoothly, not giving even the slightest glance behind him before he turned the small wheel on the door and disappeared behind it with a slam.

Robin sat for a moment, collecting his thoughts and pain and frustration into something that at least resembled a coherent thought before he pushed himself to his feet. He swallowed hard at the lump in his throat and walked towards the door, turning the knob with his one good arm until it relented and he followed Slade's trail down the corridor.

"Slade," he called timidly, finding the man typing into one of the machines, his back turned as before.

"Your clothes are hanging where you left them," the villain replied dismissively. "I suggest you dress yourself before you leave."

"I'm not leaving," Robin said, sounding only marginally defiant. "You agreed to break me. And I'm not broken yet."

Slade gave a low, joyless chuckle, turning so that his profiled face was shadowed by the glowing screen. "Don't worry, my boy. I'm not done yet."

"Now, Master?" Robin heard his own voice from behind him just before he felt plastic pressed against his arm and heard the sound of the compressed air injection.

"What-" he began, kicking his leg behind him and making contact with his younger doppelganger. Before he could do much more, Slade was leering over him, grabbing hold of his arms and throwing him against one of the tables.

"Should have left when I told you to," Slade gave a merciless smile and a shrug.

Robin jumped to his feet, swaying dangerously as the room began to spin. He held his fists in front of his face, ready for a fight as Slade came nearer.

"You've been given a powerful sedative," Slade purred, picking up the bloodstained picklock and casually studying it. "You should consider that the least of your worries at this time, because I'm going to show you exactly what it means to be _broken_."

"Slae…" Robin mumbled, finding that his tongue suddenly did not want to cooperate, either that or it had swollen to fill his whole, mouth, he couldn't really tell. He had planned to say '_stop,_' but that didn't really seem like much of a possibility at that point, both because his tongue wasn't cooperating and the room was getting very dark. He could feel himself tipping to the side, his body growing heavier until he crashed against the floor for the second time, only he wasn't quite as unconscious as before.

"_Put him on the table_," He heard Slade say dreamily, followed by a "_Yes Master_," from the android. He could almost feel small arms circling around his torso and beginning to lift his body, but that is precisely when he lost himself to a restless and painful sleep.

* * *

Robin awoke to the site of his boots dangling a foot from the rocky ground. His body was drenched in pain, and his blood pounded in his ears as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He could see his breath slowly turning to fog in front of his face, but noticed that something in the way that distorted the mist. A slight moan of pain made him realize that, along with the gag that held his tongue in place, he was wearing a full mask over his head. He shifted lightly, finding that he had very little range of movement. Groggily, he tried to make his vision focus, noticing now that his ankles were wrapped in heavy chains that extended up his body, effectively cocooning him against whatever he was hanging from. Very slowly, the overall feeling of pain began to subside, leading to a more concentrated areas and ailments. His wrists, bound tightly to the surface pounded in tune with the pain in his ears, but with each breath, he could feel the sting of lacerations all down his back and chest.

"Good God…" he heard a woman's voice and soon the crackle of a walkie-talkie. "Get the Commissioner to the roof."

Robin struggled to lift his head, seeing the woman in question and instantly recognizing her as one of Gotham's detectives- One that Bruce had deemed trustworthy, though that had been a long time ago.

"I see the cavalry is arriving," Slade's voice made Robin tense and the officer raise her pistol.

"Ten Seventy-eight," She said calmly into her radio, not lowering the gun she had aimed square on Slade's eye.

Robin watched the barrel as it followed the villain. Slade walked to the hero's side, patting the steel drum that circled the teen, sending a cold chill down the hero's spine as he realized what exactly he was tied to.

"Ten-Sixty, Montoya. Deploy?"

"Yes sir, he has a hostage chained to the signal light. I… I think it's Robin…"

"It is," Slade let her know, calmly if not a bit arrogantly. "And please inform the arriving squad that I'm far from alone."

The detective jumped at the sound of the many Slade bots springing onto the rooftop, some arriving from distant buildings, others that had been clinging to the side of the Police Department building, or merely hiding in the many shadows that covered Gotham.

Robin felt his heart pounding as the door to the building burst open and officers poured forward, among them was the commissioner, pistol drawn and glasses shining in the ambient light of the city.

"Fighting will not be necessary, Commissioner." Slade rested his hand on his hips. "I'm here for your assets, not for your men."

James Gordon looked stern as he slowly walked forward, raising his hands in the air in a show of compliance.

"There's a lot of blood, Mr. Wilson." He spoke very clearly, stopping ten feet from the man. "How do I know your hostage is still actually still alive?"

"Oh, I'm not about to get rid of the Boy Wonder, if I can help it. I still have many plans for him." Slade hummed darkly. "But, if you want to check for yourself…?" He gestured to the teen and the commissioner took another step forward, "Naturally, I'd ask that you leave your _gun_ behind?" he almost growled, hinting that he did not appreciate his patience being tried.

Gordon obliged, kneeling down and leaving his gun on the snowy gravel before he continued forward once more. Robin swallowed hard as the strong, but wrinkled hand lifted to his throat, finding warmth and a strong pulse. The man gave a low sigh of relief at that finding, something that his eyes reflected equally. Robin tried to speak, but only a strangled murmur could escape his gagged tongue.

"Stay calm, son," Gordon whispered, "We'll get you out of this."

"Now," Slade growled, pushing the commissioner back and drawing a unanimous sound of hands tightening over pistols from the men and women in uniform. The Slade bots hummed ominously at the threat, but remained stationary. "Let's begin, shall we?"

"What are your demands?" Gordon asked, his eyes fixed on Robin, trying to reassure him.

Slade's eye glared from under his mask as he spoke with a dark mirth in his voice, "Get me Bruce Wayne."

* * *

A/N: And Slade and Robin never had sex again forever. The End.

... No? Okay, fine. I'll keep writing and they'll keep fucking. Jeeze.


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